Publisher:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft, Kiel, Hamburg
Abstract:
We use social security records to document heterogeneity in life expectancy by lifetime earnings and we analyze how this longevity gap has evolved over cohorts. We provide evidence that the earnings-related longevity gap is increasing over cohorts in West Germany. Further, we propose a decomposition to disentangle the role of increasing earnings inequality over cohorts and the effect of changes in the earnings gradient. Finally, we study the distributional implications for the pension system.