Contextual analysis reveals weaker subjective perceptions in countries with a high standard of living
Subjective perception of income is partly formed through a comparison to others. In general, pensioners’ reference groups are thought to be other pensioners. There is no research on the subject, however, and no verified data on whether the reference group changes after retirement, for example, from the working age population to other pensioners.
With three possible reference groups on india rcs data offer – the overall population, the working age population and pensioners – be the reference group of both younger and older pensioners on an old-age pension. Pensioners are more likely surrounded by other pensioners, which makes it more natural for them to select pensioners as their reference group.
It was more surprising to discover that, in the European countries in which the average income of retirees was higher, pensioners perceived their own income to be more insufficient, and vice versa.
This result may speak of increased expectations regarding consumption, caused by a higher standard of living. Differences in the income distribution of the population or the pensioners was of no significance. In other words, the subjective perception of one’s own livelihood seems to be affected, in the end, by the subjective perception of the income of similar people in one’s vicinity.