Laura Romeu Gordo is the Interim Head of Research and Deputy Director at the German Centre of Gerontology (DZA). Her research focuses on work, retirement, pension provision, gender aspects of labor market participation, and housing. With a doctorate in Economics from the Technical University of Berlin, she has held research positions at institutions such as the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and the Max Planck Institute. She has contributed to key projects on aging, well-being, and financial challenges in later life.

Abstract:

Given the rapid aging of societies, studying the economic consequences of providing unpaid care for ill, disabled, or frail elderly family members (hereafter "family care") is crucial. While previous research has mainly focused on the short-term economic consequences of family caregiving, this study focuses on the long-term economic consequences. Building on the life course approach, we analyze the association between family care in the late career and old-age security within different late employment careers. Information on individuals’ life courses between the ages of 55 and 65 (N=814) is derived from SOEP-RV, a novel data linkage of administrative records of the German pension insurance (RV) with the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Using linear regressions, preceded by sequence and cluster analyses to typify late employment careers, we found that low-intensity care is not linked to the accumulation of pension entitlements. In contrast, high-intensity caregivers accumulate fewer pension entitlements, particularly if their late careers are marked by full-time or part-time employment. Those high-intensity caregivers who accrue pension credits by providing care for a long-term care insurance beneficiary accumulate more pension entitlements, particularly if their late careers are characterized by part-time employment, homemaking, or early retirement.

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