The Motherhood Penalty in Financial Resources for Retirement: A Life Course Perspective on the Accumulation of Public Pension Wealth and Personal Wealth in East and West Germany

Abstract This study investigates the motherhood penalty on personal net wealth and public pension wealth, focusing on women born between 1937 and 1989. Expanding upon previous research, we (a) contrast the impact of motherhood on public pension wealth and net wealth, (b) adopt a dynamic perspective by modelling wealth accumulation over the life course, and (c) differentiate between mothers of one or multiple children. Our sample includes individuals insured in the German public pension system, excluding civil servants and self-employed. We use the SOEP-RV linkage data, combining the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) with administrative records from the German Pension Insurance (VSKT), and analyze public pension wealth and individual net wealth for 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017. Growth curve models reveal a significant motherhood penalty in net wealth, particularly pronounced in West Germany. For public pension wealth, there is a significant penalty in West Germany, while no significant long-term effect is observed in East Germany.