an article by Katja Möhring (University of Mannheim, Germany) published in Ageing & Society Volume 38 Issue 12 (December 2018)
Abstract
This study examines the retirement income of women in Europe, focusing on the effect of motherhood.
Due to their more interrupted working careers compared to non-mothers and fathers, mothers are likely to accumulate fewer pension entitlements, and consequently, to receive lower incomes in later life. However, pension systems in Europe vary widely in the degree to which they compensate for care-related career interruptions by means of redistributive elements or pension care entitlements.
Therefore, care interruptions may matter for the retirement income of women in some countries, but may be rather irrelevant in others.
On the basis of life history data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARELIFE) for women aged between 60 and 75 years in 13 European countries, the interplay of individual lifecourse characteristics with institutional and structural factors is examined.
The results show that the lower retirement income of mothers is mainly a result of fewer years in employment and lower-status jobs throughout the lifecourse. The analysis of institutional factors reveals that pension care entitlements are not able to provide a compensation for care-related cutbacks in working life.
A generally redistributive design of the pension system including basic or targeted pension schemes, in contrast, appears as an effective measure to balance differences in employment participation over the lifecourse.
Full text (PDF 30pp)
Showing posts with label retirement_income. Show all posts
Showing posts with label retirement_income. Show all posts
Friday, 28 December 2018
Friday, 6 July 2012
Lifecourse determinants and incomes in retirement: Belgium and the United Kingdom compared
an article by Caroline Dewilde (Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam) published in Ageing & Society Volume 32 Part 4 (May 2012)
Abstract
This paper considers how social inequality in old age might be structured by previous lifecourse experiences. Specifically, it analyses the impact of ‘life-time’ family and labour market experiences on household incomes of older people in Belgium and the United Kingdom.
Prospective panel data and retrospective life-history information from the Panel Study of Belgian Households (1992-2002) and the British Household Panel Survey (1991-2005) were combined. The analysis sample comprised 481 Belgium men, 602 Belgium women, 577 British men, and 803 British women aged 60 years and over.
The results show that old-age income is indeed influenced by previous lifecourse experiences, and that differences between Belgium and the UK can be explained in terms of welfare régime arrangements. Family experiences have a larger impact on old-age incomes in ‘male-breadwinner’ Belgium, while in Britain labour market events are more important.
As social transfers in Britain are more aimed at poverty prevention and less at income replacement, a ‘scarring effect’ of unemployment persists even into old age. Also, the more of one’s career is spent in blue-collar work, self-employment or farming, the lower the income in old age.
This effect was found to be significantly stronger in Belgium than in the UK, despite the high level of ‘de-commodification’ achieved by the Belgian welfare state.
Abstract
This paper considers how social inequality in old age might be structured by previous lifecourse experiences. Specifically, it analyses the impact of ‘life-time’ family and labour market experiences on household incomes of older people in Belgium and the United Kingdom.
Prospective panel data and retrospective life-history information from the Panel Study of Belgian Households (1992-2002) and the British Household Panel Survey (1991-2005) were combined. The analysis sample comprised 481 Belgium men, 602 Belgium women, 577 British men, and 803 British women aged 60 years and over.
The results show that old-age income is indeed influenced by previous lifecourse experiences, and that differences between Belgium and the UK can be explained in terms of welfare régime arrangements. Family experiences have a larger impact on old-age incomes in ‘male-breadwinner’ Belgium, while in Britain labour market events are more important.
As social transfers in Britain are more aimed at poverty prevention and less at income replacement, a ‘scarring effect’ of unemployment persists even into old age. Also, the more of one’s career is spent in blue-collar work, self-employment or farming, the lower the income in old age.
This effect was found to be significantly stronger in Belgium than in the UK, despite the high level of ‘de-commodification’ achieved by the Belgian welfare state.
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