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The Joint Distribution of Net Worth and Pension Wealth in Germany

Referierte Aufsätze Web of Science

Timm Bönke, Markus M. Grabka, Carsten Schröder, Edward N. Wolff, Lennard Zyska

In: The Review of Income and Wealth 65 (2019),4, S. 834-871

Abstract

The research on wealth inequality has generally focused on real and financial assets, while giving little attention to pension wealth: the present value of future pension entitlements from public and company pension schemes. This is surprising given the important role pension plans play in guaranteeing material security and well‐being for a majority of the population, and suggests that they should be accounted for in peoples’ wealth portfolios. Using novel data from the Socio‐Economic Panel (SOEP), we study the incidence, relevance, and distribution of individual pension wealth, net worth, and augmented wealth (the sum of the two) in Germany. Further, we investigate age‐wealth profiles and differences between East and West Germany.

Timm Bönke

Co-Head in the Macroeconomics Department

Carsten Schröder

Board of Directors SOEP and Division Head Applied Panel Analysis in the German Socio-Economic Panel study Department

Markus M. Grabka

Board of Directors SOEP & Acting Division Head in the German Socio-Economic Panel study Department



JEL-Classification: D31;H55;J32
Keywords: age wealth profiles, augmented wealth, net worth, pension wealth, SOEP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.12371

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