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Abstract

Gianni betti, Francesca bettio, Thomas georgiAdis, Platon tinios, Unequal Ageing in Europe. Women' s Independence and New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, X-187 p.A considerable body of literature exists on gender pay gap but few studies have been done on gender gap in pensions. Research only began on question in mid-1990s (Jefferson 2009). This book, then, is a welcome addition to small number of existing studies, and is particularly useful in providing statistical data for international comparison, virtually non-existent until now. One reason gender dimension has been absent from this debate is that malefemale pension inequality did not necessarily result in unequal living standards upon retirement. When marriage was predominant, stable form of conjugal life, fact that women's personal pensions were low was not a problem; it could be assumed that couple members would pool their income until spouse's death, at which point retirement system would begin paying out a survivor's pension.The gender pension gap became a social and research concern when a variety of changes occurred that called afore-cited arrangements into question. First, assumption of income pooling within couple may not be valid, and, as authors note, having one's own pension is a major determinant of economic independence, especially since pensions represent better part of income for a considerable proportion of retirees. It is therefore legitimate to enquire into impact of labour market gender gaps at time of retirement and how they are evolving. While women's massive entry into labour market has narrowed pension gaps, it is still difficult to apprehend magnitude of that reduction and how it is going forward. Moreover, women's rising participation in labour force has gone together with an increase in non-standard and part-time jobs. It has occurred in context of retirement policy reforms that have redefined pension calculation parameters, shifted emphasis from basic retirement benefits (where disparities were relatively low) to contribution plans (the second pillar), extended working years and adversely impacted on policies that directly or indirectly targeted women (i.e., family and conjugal benefits). Another reason, not directly mentioned in book, is increased importance of individual benefits at a time when conjugal behaviours have been undergoing profound change. When generations implicated in rising divorce rate or who have chosen unions other than marriage reach retirement age, they will radically alter structure of retired population.After explaining why it is important to be attentive to gaps between men's and women's pensions, authors present two indicators for studying them (Chapter 2). The first is Gender Gap in Pensions, calculated as one minus women's average pension income divided by men's average pension income; this applies only to individuals who have a pension. The second is the coverage rate, which integrates persons without a retirement pension, a group that may vary proportionally by country, age and of course sex. Calculating these indicators is not as simple as it seems because of difficulties in defining retirees and pensions (e.g., should private pensions be included?), especially for purpose of international comparison. Valid comparisons can only be made on basis of suitable databases. The authors draw on Survey on Income and Living Conditions or EU-SILC, a harmonised database for Europe. Further on, they enquire into feasibility of using administrative data, pointing out that though each country may prefer to use its own administrative data to compile statistics, this may make international comparisons more difficult. …