An Evaluation of the Effect of the 2003 Reform on the Retirement Behavior the Case of Public Secondary-School Teachers

While a new retirement pension reform is currently discussed in France, it is crucial to evaluate previous reforms. Up to now, no evaluation of the 2003 reform is available, particularly for civil servants. This article deals with the impact of this reform on the retirement behaviour of public secondary-school teachers. On the one hand, the reform has had an impact on the retirement behaviour of secondary school teachers who still work at 60. The probability to retire between 60 and 61 years old for those who have paid their social contributions for 37.5 years at 60 years old drops by 9 points. On the other hand, the reform seems to have changed teachers’ willingness to get the so called “full-pension” rate. When the number of missing quarters of social contributions required to benefit from the full pension rate at 60 years old is low, the reform is not found to induce teachers born after 1944 to postpone their retirement after 61 years old. But a large number of missing quarters has still the same effect before and after the reform