Pension and Labour Supply -- Does the 2011 Reform Effect Depend on Prior Health Status?

The comprehensive Norwegian pension reform implemented in 2011 incentivises an extended working life. We analyse the effect of the reform at the extensive and intensive margin of labour supply. We identify reform effects by looking at labour responses before and after the reform using a treatment and control group approach (regression-adjusted dynamic difference-in-differences). Using objective and highly reliable health care utilisation data, we analyse whether the reform effects depend on individual health, measured prior to the earliest pension claiming age, which was 62 after the reform. We find that the positive reform effect on labour supply found in the literature is independent of health status. Irrespective of gender and type of job, people of poor prior health increase their labour supply after the reform no less than people of better health. The reform thus seems to support equality of opportunity for older workers in the labour market