PUBLIC PENSIONS IN THE EU:
MIGRATION INCENTIVES AND IMPACTS
by
David E. Wildasin
Department of Economics
Vanderbilt University
Abstract
Workers who relocate from one EU member state to another become subject
to the fiscal system, including the public pension program, of the
destination country. Data on public pension contributions and benefits
are used to estimate the change in the present value of lifetime wealth
for "representative" workers in 7 EU countries that results from switching
from one public pension program to another. Migrants may experience changes
in net public pension wealth as great as 25% of lifetime wealth for some
origin/destination pairs. Illustrative calculations suggest that the welfare
effects of migration are quantitatively important for some EU countries.
David E. Wildasin / dew@davidwildasin.us