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Pensions and Participation: Evidence From World War II Veterans in Australia

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of World War II (WWII) service on the labour force participation (LFP) of older Australian men in the second half of the twentieth century. Leveraging substantial variation in service rates across birth cohorts, we estimate the causal effect of military service on retirement behaviour. We find that WWII service led to a pronounced decline in LFP—by more than 20 percentage points—for men aged 60–64. This decline is primarily driven by veterans' earlier eligibility for public retirement benefits, particularly the Service Pension, which was accessible from age 60. Supporting this interpretation, survey data from the 1970s indicate that veterans expected to retire earlier than non‐veterans. Furthermore, differences in education, employment history and income do not fully explain the observed gap in retirement expectations, underscoring the role of veteran‐specific retirement provisions in shaping labour supply at older ages.

Source: Economic Record

DOI: 10.1111/1475-4932.12876

Authors: David Rodgers, George Kudrna, Alan Woodland

Institutions: UNSW Sydney, Centre for Population Ageing Research, Australian National University

Language: English

Topic: Retirement, Disability, and Employment

Subfield: Demography

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,900