Description
Book SynopsisSince the early 1990s the countries of the European Union and Central and Eastern Europe have been involved in the process of reforming their retirement income systems. The principal objective of these reforms is to contain the cost of pay-as-you-go public pensions in the face of ageing populations. Many of the reforms involve greater reliance on personal saving and the development of capital markets to fund private pension arrangements.
The distinguished contributors from Europe and the United States demonstrate the complexity of pension provision and reform, and highlight the dangers of focusing on one particular model. They consider critical issues and debates about how to finance pensions, present evidence on the effects of pension reform on the incomes of the elderly, set out objectives to ensure intergenerational equity in public pensions, and examine different pathways to pension coverage. They also argue that recent reforms in Europe may have the effect of reducing the incomes of future pensioners while exposing them to uninsurable risks associated with private pensions.
This book addresses a pervasive and increasingly important issue by identifying differences in pension systems throughout the EU and Europe as a whole, and proposing various reforms and solutions to the emerging problem of pension provision. It will prove essential reading and a valuable source of reference for academics, economists, policymakers and government agencies concerned with the evolution and reform of pensions, and with social and economic development in general.
Trade Review'This volume makes a valuable contribution to understanding the variety and complexity of reforms and their impacts.' -- Mark Harvey, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations
'Gerard Hughes and Jim Stewart have put together a very informative and insightful collection of essays on pension provision in Europe and its future. . . Reforming Pensions in Europe
will interest all those concerned with the long-term impacts of an ageing society.' -- Robin Blackburn, Journal of Social Policy
Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Part I: Pension Reforms: Issues and Debates 2. The 2001 Pension Reform Act in Germany and Income in Old Age 3. Are the UK’s Pension Objectives Attainable? 4. Pension Privatisation in Hungary and Poland: A Comparative Overview 5. Labour Cost, Social Security and Employee Severance Funds Part II: Pension Reforms and Incomes of the Elderly 6. The Impact of Pension Reforms on Older People’s Income: A Comparative View 7. Income of Retired Persons in Ireland: Some Evidence from Household Budget Surveys 8. Financing Pensions by Stealth: The Anglo-American Model and the Cost and Distribution of Tax Benefits for Private Pensions 9. Labour Market Changes and Pension Entitlement in France: What Prospects? 10. Germany’s Pension Reform in 2001: More or Less Gender Equality? 11. Occupational Pensions in Sweden from a Gender Perspective Part III: Changing Forms of Solidarity 12. Intergenerational Equity and Pension Reform 13. Pathways to Pension Coverage Index
