Pension norms and pension reforms in Europe – the effects on gender pension gaps

Abstract

Pension levels in the EU15 are significantly gendered. Various reforms to pension systems explicitly aim at improving women's opportunities to build up pension entitlements. These reforms differ from country to country. We see so-called work–life balance policies to increase women's labour market participation by facilitating part-time employment in particular as well as pension entitlements for care periods outside the labour market. At the same time, however, other seemingly gender neutral reforms generally tend to have the opposite effect. These measures include changes in pension calculation norms and pension composition, increasing the importance of non-public pensions. Therefore, future female pensioners will not be significantly better off. However, for women to be better off is necessary in times of pension retrenchments and individualization.

Based on recent life-course theories and studies, this article analyses the multiplicity of reasons for gender differentiated pension levels. It shows that the numerous direct and indirect pension determining factors related to life courses and welfare arrangements are interlinked on many fronts. Their cumulative effects finally result in (continued) significant gender gaps. It is argued that there are no quick fixes for reducing the gender gaps in pensions but that this will require attention to the degendering of labour market and the reformulation of life course norms.

Les niveaux des retraites dans l'UE15 sont différents pour les hommes et les femmes. Des réformes variées des systèmes de retraites ont comme but explicit d'améliorer les opportunités des femmes d'acquérir des droits de retraite. Ces réformes sont différentes d'un pays à l'autre. Par exemple, on trouve des facilitations d'un travail à temps partiel, ou la reconnaissance de droits de retraite pour les périodes de soins données. En même temps, pourtant, d'autres réformes, apparemment neutres, ont la tendance d'avoir un effet opposé. Ces mesures incluent des transformations des norms de calculs des retraites, ainsi que la composition des différents sous-systèmes de retraite, variable par pays. Par consequent, dans l'avenir, les femmes retraitées ne se trouveront pas dans une situation améliorée. Pourtant, ce serait nécessaire actuellement à cause des réductions assez générales des niveaux de retraites et aussi à cause de l'individualisation des droits de pensions.

Basé sur les études récentes, théoriques et empiriques, du cours de la vie, cet article analyse la multiplicité des raisons qui expliquent des niveaux différents de retraites des hommes et des femmes. L'effet cumulé de tous les facteurs determinants le niveau de la retraite ont comme conséquence que cette différence continue d’être significative.

Keywords:

• gender
• pensions
• life course
• linked lives
• standard biographies
• welfare arrangements

Keywords:

• genre
• retraite
• cours de la vie
• vies liées
• biographies standards
• arrangements de l'Etat social

Notes

1. The ‘Eckrentner’ presupposes 45 years of full-time labour market participation with average income as the average normative pensioner's biography.

2. National pension systems are often seen as being composed of pillars. However, this categorization is highly problematic, and it is almost impossible to show gender differences on the basis of this categorization (Frericks et al., 2006).

3. Pensions are always ‘derived’ from something, in this context from having children. However, the official use of this term is linked to derived rights as a spouse, in general, rights derived from the husband.

4. The latest statistics on care facilities in Germany, on 31 December 2002, are less clearly differentiated but comparable (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2004).

5. In fact, Riester entitlements are necessary to maintain the current level of public pensions. The term ‘improvement’, therefore, is improper.

6. The Franchise does not reflect realistic individual AOW entitlements. Firstly, the assumed and real AOW levels may differ due to retrenchments. Secondly, the Franchise is calculated with a partner-AOW of 100% or a single AOW of 70%, while in a partner household each partner only gets 50%.

7. The dependency ratio is the number of people in paid employment in relation to the number of people depending on social benefits.