SOEP-RV

    Thank you for your interest in the SOEP-RV data. This cooperation project offers a combined dataset of survey and administrative data.

    What is the project about?

    SOEP-RV is a joint project of the Research Data Centre of the German Pension Insurance (FDZ-RV) with the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). It was actively funded by the Pension Research Network (FNA). In this project, data from the Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP) is combined with anonymised FDZ-RV data. Since the social security data encompasses a long lifespan, researchers have unique possibilities to investigate questions regarding long-term social inequality or the effects of political reforms. Particularly in the area of pensions and retirement research, SOEP-RV also offers great potential for methodological questions, such as on the reliability of self-disclosures in survey data compared to process data. The project has meanwhile been permanently established. As a result, the SOEP-RV data will be updated on both an annual (RTBN) and biennial (VSKT) basis. Furthermore, work is currently being carried out on expanding the sample with every SOEP survey.

    What does the survey data from the SOEP look like?

    The Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP) is one of the largest and longest-running multidisciplinary panel studies worldwide, for which currently around 30,000 people in approximately 15,000 households are surveyed each year. In order to be included in the SOEP-RV sample, the respondent must consent in writing to the linking of their survey data with their pension insurance account. In this way, they authorise the German Pension Insurance to provide their data from the insurance account for SOEP-RV. To date, around 16,000 SEOP-Core and SOEP-IS respondents have agreed to this record linkage. 

    What does the process data from the FDZ-RV look like?

    The Research Data Centre of the German Pension Insurance provides historical data in the format of the sample of insured accounts (VSKT) as well as the cross-sectional sample of pensions dataset (RTBN): 

    • The data in the format of the sample of insured accounts (VSKT) comprises a fixed part, containing demographic characteristics and a number of pension-related variables, and a historical module on the periods of insurance in statutory pension insurance. The VSKT offers monthly information on all activities subject to social security and the resulting earnings points. However, it does not include employment as civil servants and self-employed occupational activities that are not subject to insurance.
    • The cross-sectional sample of pensions dataset (RTBN) offers information on pension recipients. It includes the start of pensions, key values for pension calculations and earnings points attained.

    How can the data be accessed?

    The data may be used exclusively for scientific research purposes. For this purpose, the data is offered in the form of Scientific Use Files both in German and in English for the analysis programs Stata and SPSS. Please note that the SOEP data and the administrative data of the German Pension Insurance must be ordered separately. The data can subsequently be combined by the users themselves. In order to receive both datasets, an application must be submitted on the website of each research data centre and a user agreement signed. The data will then be provided for download.