---
title: "Should Old-age Benefits Be Earnings-tested"
authors:
  - name: "Määttänen, Niku"
  - name: "Poutvaara, Panu"
date_published: "2006-12-18"
series: "Discussion Papers no."
series_number: "1062"
jel_codes:
  - "H55"
  - "J26"
  - "C68"
language: "en"
publisher: "ETLA Economic Research"
pdf_url: "https://www.etla.fi/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/dp1062.pdf"
keywords:
  - "social security"
  - "retirement"
  - "means-testing"
  - "computational models"
identifier: "https://www.etla.fi/julkaisut/id/Discussion-Papers-no.-1062"
---

# Should Old-age Benefits Be Earnings-tested

**Published:** 2006-12-18  
**Categories:** Publikationer  
**Tags:** Diskussionsämnen  
**URL:** https://www.etla.fi/sv/publikationer/dp1062-en/

We study the welfare effects of earnings testing flat-rate old-age benefits in a quantitative overlapping generations model with idiosyncratic labor income risk. In our model economy, even a moderate earnings testing reduces individualsŽ expected lifetime utility. Moreover, it also lowers the realized lifetime utilities of those at the bottom of the lifetime utility distribution.

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