Homes as Old Age Security? Households’ Perceptions of Housing and Elderly Care in Finland and Portugal

Abstract

This paper investigates homeowners’ views on housing and elderly care in two urban localities in Finland and Portugal. A special emphasis is put on the perception of old-age care arrangements and the role of housing equity in providing security. Our qualitative interview data focuses on the shared frameworks of understanding through which interviewees make sense of these issues. Given the socio-cultural differences between the two countries, it can be expected that these frameworks would be rather different. The Finnish welfare state endorses the ideals of the Nordic welfare model, such as universal benefits, high coverage and public provision. Portugal represents the Mediterranean model where the family and the third sector are central in providing welfare and the state's role is more limited. Therefore, one could hypothesise that Portuguese interviewees regard old-age care mostly outside the scope of the state, with stronger inputs from the family than Finnish interviewees. Additionally, within the perspective of home as the locus of family solidarity and intergenerational transfers, equity withdrawal would be understood more negatively whereas Finnish households would see it more positively emphasising the benefits it gives to the individual.

Key Words:

• Home ownership
• housing equity
• welfare regime
• old-age care
• intergenerational relationships
• Finland
• Portugal

Notes

¹In 2007, Iacovou & Skew 2010.

²Parents, but no other relatives, have legal obligation to provide maintenance for their children as long as children are underage (18 years).

³S20/S80 income quintile share ratio.

⁴Ratio of the median equivalised disposable income of persons aged above 65 to the median equivalised disposable income of persons aged below 65.

⁵Difference between the median equivalised disposable income of people below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold and the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, expressed as a percentage of the at-risk-of-poverty threshold.

⁶Ratio of income from pensions of persons aged between 65 and 74 years and income from work of persons aged between 50 and 59 years.

⁷Gross household saving divided by gross disposable income with the latter being adjusted for the change in the net equity of households in pension funds reserves.

1. Our reports for the EU (Naumanen & Ruonavaara, 2009a; Perista 2009a) contain a more detailed description of the sample and research design, as well as a more thorough description of our findings.