AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST ON RETIREMENT DECISIONS

I. INTRODUCTION The reform of social security systems is now one of the main issues on the economic policy agenda of most industrialized countries. It is widely considered that, unless serious changes take place, the aging of the population implying a rise in the number of retirees relative to that of workers will threaten the viability, of pay-as-you-go public pension systems in the long run. This threat is being reinforced by the progressive reduction in the retirement age of the working population. The central reforms that are being proposed to neutralize these future financing problems are the raising of the contribution rate, the decreasing of pension benefits, or/and the delay of the …