Retirement and senior heterogeneity: the impact of public policies.

Summary The ageing of the population in developed countries calls into question the sustainability of pay-as-you-go pension systems. Several reforms have therefore been undertaken to meet this demographic challenge. However, the effects of these reforms have been questioned. Their effectiveness depends on how seniors respond to the reforms. However, senior citizens have very different profiles, particularly in terms of their work environment and family situation. This heterogeneity among seniors can affect their retirement behavior. Not taking into account this diversity in terms of the environments in which seniors evolve can therefore lead to biases when evaluating public policies. Therefore, this thesis analyzes, using econometric methods, the determinants, and particularly the role of occupational and family heterogeneity, of the retirement decision process. First, the heterogeneity of individuals in terms of their professional environment is taken into account in the analysis of the role of quality of life at work in the retirement decision process. Secondly, heterogeneity in terms of family environment is taken into account in the analysis of the decision process within couples and the determinants of this process for each spouse. Finally, an evaluation of public policy through the prism of joint decisions within couples is carried out to test the presence of spillover effects, via the spouse, of the reform on the individual's retirement strategy. The results of this thesis work highlight the important role of heterogeneity among seniors in the retirement decision. These results therefore encourage public policy makers to take into account the heterogeneity of seniors. The coordination of social policies related to retirement, family and quality of life at work is one way to consider this heterogeneity among seniors.