Gender and pensions in Europe: current trends in women’s pension acquisition

Abstract

Pension systems designed for individuals who are continuously employed full time leaves women in most countries without an adequate pension income of their own, a situation that is increasingly serious as families fragment and diversify. The balance between public and private pension provision is crucial to the financial well-being in later life of those with non-standard employment, particularly women. Family forms and practices in industrial societies have increasingly diverged from this assumed model. The chapter examines women’s employment patterns in these three countries and the extent to which the pension system in each country presents obstacles to women with non-standard employment obtaining a pension income in their own right. It argues that the risk of an inadequate personal income in later life for those with non-standard employment, especially women with domestic responsibilities, is greater the larger the private occupational sector.