Employment and Household Income Dynamics among the Elderly in Russia, 2000-2012: Insights from Longitudinal Data

Theodore P. Gerber, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jonas Radl, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)

Russia provides an interesting context for studying the labor market experiences of the elderly because of its experience with market transition, its looming growth in the elderly dependency ratio, its low retirement age (55 for women and 60 for women), and its unusual pension policies that do not penalize pensioners for working. We expand on a previous analysis of the labor market experiences of Russian pensioners (Gerber and Radl 2013). First, we examine the period 2000-2012, yielding insight into how the 2008 global recession affected the well-being of the elderly. Second, we use a prospective household panel study, the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, to analyze exit from and entry to employment, the interplay between household income/poverty dynamics and elderly labor market participation, and job mobility on the part of working pensioners. Third, we use the European Social Survey to analyze trends and correlates of hours worked by the elderly.