Benchmark replacement rates are commonly used to set up saving plans or to assess retirement preparedness. An open question is whether high earners need the same replacement rate as low earners. In this paper, I apply the GAESE framework, an approach known from the equivalence scale literature, to assess how the replacement rate that maintains income satisfaction through retirement relates to income levels. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, and applying fixed-effects ordered logit models, I find that the benchmark replacement rate decreases with income. For singles, this finding is consistent across many modifications of the approach, whereas for couples the finding is sensitive to the composition of the retiree household, i.e. whether or not the retiree’s partner is still employed.

基准替代率通常用于制定储蓄计划或评估退休准备情况。一个悬而未决的问题是高收入者是否需要与低收入者相同的替代率。在本文中，我应用 GAESE 框架（一种从等值量表文献中获知的方法）来评估退休后维持收入满意度的替代率与收入水平的关系。使用德国社会经济小组的纵向数据，并应用固定效应有序 Logit 模型，我发现基准替代率随着收入的增加而下降。对于单身人士来说，这一发现在该方法的许多修改中都是一致的，而对于夫妇来说，这一发现对退休人员家庭的构成很敏感，即退休人员的伴侣是否仍在工作。