Anreizeffekte und Angebotsinduzierung im Rahmen der Riester-Rente: Eine empirische Analyse geschlechts- und sozialisationsbedingter Unterschiede

In 2001, the voluntary Riester pension scheme was implemented in Germany. Financial subsidies should provide incentives to increase private pension savings. In this paper, we hypothesize that these publicly subsidized savings are mainly driven by the incentives of child benefits and that supplier induced demand is an important factor. Using data from the Socio-economic Panel we analyze the key determinants in the choice of a Riester-pension. We find a higher probability to sign a Riester contract for those with higher income, higher education and children. Furthermore, we show that a contact with an insurance agent in the previous year is a major factor for the possession of a Riesterpension. Separate estimations regarding gender and socialization confirm our hypothesis of heterogeneous determinants.