1.
Research questions
A main interest of research on old age provision is income after retirement for today’s, but
also for future retirees. For the analysis of the current retired generation comprehensive data
on all income sources are therefore needed. For in-debt research on reasons for a given
income situation of retired persons the data should include life-course information on
employment and income over the life-circle until retirement. Process produced data from the
pension fund are especially useful for these research topics because the public pension scheme
is the most inclusive old age provision which contributes furthermore the main part of old age
income. The data include details about the employment career and other life-course events as
far as they are considered in the pensions’ calculation. The life-course information is very
broad, because of the far reaching evaluation of social situations and activities in past and
current pension law. Nevertheless, additional sources are needed if research projects address
the income situation more in detail, in particular questions of poverty or high income in old
age. The occupational pension and private saving are important additional components of old
age provisions. The pension reforms of the past decade have strengthened the second and
third pillar in the importance, thereby increasing their importance for future old age income.
The overall low old age income of women, especially in West Germany, requires in addition
the household income in order to assess the real economic situation.
Central focus of social research is also retirement age, which is highly determined from
social security law. The pension law determines overall retirement behaviour for those who
are socially insured. Process produced data are the best choice for this kind of research
question including legal background information even unknown to the pensioners themselves.
However, process produced data do not include subjective information on the motives of early
retirement. The data are not accurate for persons who retired as life-time employed civil
servants or as self-employed earlier, but received their public pension only later. Pension fund
data alone lead therefore to an overestimation of retirement age.
To assess future old-age income requires a different approach with adequate data. The
forecast of future income requires in the first step a thorough collection of all information
about undertaken old age provisions up to the date like acquired social security rights, private
insurances and other savings and occupational pensions. This data are then a basis for
estimates of future old age income.