Abstract

We study how social security influences the retirement behavior of couples. First, we exploit over two decades of full-population data and a discontinuity design to document sizable retirement spillovers to spouses when individuals reach pension eligibility age. Next, we explore underlying mechanisms. We find age differences within couples to be a fundamental determinant of joint retirement, which is largely explained by older spouses working longer. We show evidence that the ability for spouses to claim their own pension benefits is a key driver of these age differences, since younger spouses cannot yet claim pension benefits of their own when their older partners reach pension eligibility age. Accounting for these age differences reveals a strong gender gap that prevails after controlling for relative earnings, suggesting that gender norms may play a role. We directly explore the role of relative earnings within couples and find patterns consistent with models of household behavior. Finally, in a complementary analysis we show that a reform increasing eligibility ages induces similar spillovers to spouses.