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In this article, we combine the extensive literature on the analysis of life-course trajectories as sequences with the literature on causal inference and propose a new matching approach to investigate the causal effect of the timing of life-course events on subsequent outcomes. Our matching approach takes into account pre-event confounders that are both time-independent and time-dependent as well as life-course trajectories. After matching, treated and control individuals can be compared using standard statistical tests or regression models. We apply our approach to the study of the consequences of the age at retirement on subsequent health outcomes, using a unique data set from Swedish administrative registers. Once selectivity in the timing of retirement is taken into account, effects on hospitalization are small, while early retirement has negative effects on survival. Our approach also allows for heterogeneous treatment effects. We show that the effects of early retirement differ according to preretirement income, with higher income individuals tending to benefit from early retirement, while the opposite is true for individuals with lower income.

With the emergence of a global economy, it is imperative that faculty have an increased understanding of variables or factors affecting the welfare and health care systems of different countries. In addition, they must become knowledgeable about how the European Union plays a part in the evolution of these systems and be aware of the business implications of them. This paper discusses and highlights how two countries, Sweden and Denmark, are dealing with these challenges. Based on two professors' travel experiences, personal reflections are shared and contrasted with similar issues in the United States. The paper should be applicable for both business and health care professionals in academia. (Contains 2 tables.)

Examines the advantages and disadvantages of partial retirement--the transitional period between full-time employment and complete retirement--including easing the transition, labor market effects, and financial implications for social security systems and employers. Reviews partial retirement policies in eight countries and concludes that there is a need to keep people in the labor market longer. (JOW)

Objectives: Job demands and control at work and their combination, job strain, have been studied in relation to risk of disability pension (DP) previously. In the present study, based on registry data, we aimed to deepen the knowledge by analyzing major disease groups among the DPs, dose–response shape of the associations, and potential confounding effects of physical workload. Methods: Approximately 1.8 million workers aged 44 or older and living in Sweden in 2005 were followed up for 16 years, up to a maximum of 65 years of age. We linked mean values of job demands and job control, estimated in a job-exposure matrice (JEM) by gender, to individuals through their occupational titles in 2005. These values were categorized by rank order, and, for the construction of job-strain quadrants, we used a median cut-off. Associations with DP were estimated in Cox proportional-hazards models. Results: In models accounting for covariates including physical workload, low levels of job control were associated with higher risk of DP among both men and women. This association was most clear for DP with a psychiatric diagnosis, although a dose–response shape was found only among the men. High levels of job demands were associated with decreased risk of DP across diagnoses among men, but the same association varied from weak to non-existing among women. The high- and passive job-strain quadrants both showed increased risk of DP with a psychiatric diagnosis. Conclusion: The results suggest that, at the occupational level, low job control, but not high job demands, contributes to an increased incidence of DP, particularly regarding DP with a psychiatric diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we develop a theoretical basis for integrating retirement and permanent disability using a generic nonfinancial defined contribution framework. The methodology we use relies on a multistate overlapping generations model that includes the so-called survivor dividend. Currently, this feature can only be found in the Swedish defined contribution (DC) scheme. The results achieved in the numerical example we present endorse the fact that the model works well. Special attention is given to the assumptions made about mortality rates for disabled people and disability incidence rates, which largely determine the contribution rate assigned to disability. The model could be of interest to policymakers because, after some adaptations, it could be implemented without too much difficulty and would uncover the real cost of disability and minimize the risk of disability insurance being used as a vote-buying mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elements of the Swedish pension reform enacted in the 1990s have served as a model for reform initiatives in a number of other countries. Sweden's experience suggests that a Notional Defined Contribution (NDC) pension reform can be sustained in a supportive political environment, but it has not been immune to electoral pressures to prevent visible cuts in pension benefits. Moreover, efforts to lengthen working lives have encountered major barriers both in the way that the state pension system is perceived and in the structure of the occupational pension system. Design of Sweden's individual account tier has major successes in lowering administrative costs and in providing information across sources of retirement income, but efforts to increase active engagement in selecting retirement savings portfolios have faltered. Sweden has modified its new pension system in several ways over the past decade to address perceived problems and political concerns, and debates are now arising on a "Pension Reform 2.0" package of more comprehensive changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé La méthodologie choisie pour établir le bilan comptable d'un régime de pensions de sécurité sociale dépend principalement du mode de financement du régime. En se fondant sur l'exemple du Régime de pensions du Canada, le présent article montre que, si la pérennité financière d'un régime par répartition ou par capitalisation partielle est évaluée au moyen d'un bilan actuariel, la méthodologie retenue devrait tenir compte des cotisations qui seront versées à l'avenir par les assurés actuels et futurs. Il examine les bilans établis pour un groupe ouvert, ainsi que les méthodes utilisées aux Etats- Unis et en Suède. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent studies indicate that early retirement per se may have a negative effect on health to such an extent that it increases mortality risk. One type of early retirement often referred to in these studies is retirement with disability pension/benefit. Given the overall objective of disability benefit programmes – to help the disabled live socially and economically satisfactory lives, freed from exposure to employment health hazards and thus avoid further declines in health – the finding is challenging. This paper examined the relationship between timing of retirement and mortality using a cohort of Swedish construction workers. The mortality risk of disability pensioners – excluding those with diagnoses normally connected to increased mortality – was compared with the risk of those continuing to work. Although initial indications were in line with earlier results, it became obvious that the increased mortality risk of disability pensioners did not depend on early retirement per se but on poor health before early retirement not explicitly recognized in the diagnosis on which the disability pension rested. The results indicate that there are no general differences in mortality depending on timing of retirement. Future studies of mortality differences arising from working or not working must sufficiently control for health selection effects into the studied retirement paths. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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