Biografische Einflussfaktoren auf den Gender Pension Gap – Ein Kohortenvergleich für Westdeutschland

Abstract

Societal changes, such as the increasing number of divorces and the high proportion of non-married couples, lead to a rising importance of individual old-age incomes above the poverty line for women. Although this goal seems increasingly attainable due to a rise in female employment participation, inequalities on the labor market continue to have negative implications for women’s career and earning potential. Based on data on “Old Age Provisions in Germany (AVID) 2005” this study analyzes the influence of different aspects of employment histories on the gender pension gap in West Germany. We compare projected old-age incomes including statutory pension entitlements, occupational and private pensions for two cohorts born in 1942–1946 and 1957–1961. Using Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition techniques we quantify the share of different factors in explaining the gender pension gap. The study concludes that so far neither women’s higher levels of education nor their increased employment participation have led to a distinct reduction in the gender pension gap. It still amounts to 51 % for the younger cohort, compared to 58 % for the older cohort. Multivariate results show that it is mainly the gap between full-time and part-time employment which causes the continuously large difference in men’s and women’s old-age incomes.