Minimum Income Protection for Europe’s Elderly: What and How Much has been Guaranteed during the 2000s?

Abstract

In most European welfare states the introduction of a guaranteed minimum income scheme has meant an important step in welfare state development. In many countries, categorical minimum income guarantees have been developed for various specific groups. Among others, this is often the case for persons who have reached the legal retirement age. Much research has focused on minimum income protection for able-bodied persons at working age (e.g. Immervoll, 2009; Rat, 2009; Nelson, 2010; Van Mechelen, 2010). In contrast, minimum income guarantees targeted at the elderly have received much less attention in the international literature, with few exceptions (e.g. Pearson and Whitehouse, 2009). Therefore, the first objective of this chapter is to provide an introductory overview of the different types of minimum income protection targeted at Europe’s elderly and to document how these schemes have recently been reformed.KeywordsPension ReformBenefit LevelMinimum IncomeHousing BenefitBasic PensionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.