This article compares public transfers to the elderly and their disposable income in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.K. The public transfer income of retirees depends on the particular administrative arrangements in the different countries. The organisation of public pensions varies widely, and yet there is similarity in the overall income situation of older people. Low compensation from the public system is largely made up for by high payments from other systems of compensation, while high compensation from the public system is complemented by other systems of compensation to a lesser extent. It is important to note that this does not mean that the different public pension solutions have the same effect on the distribution of income. The effects of pension systems on income distribution cannot be determined without taking into account what individuals have to pay for their pensions in the form of lower earnings during their active working life. Contributions to the pension system generally mean correspondingly lower cash wages and the design of the pension system affects the size of incomes indirectly by means of its impact on e.g. the labour supply and educational choices. In this article we discuss the direct distributive effects by comparing the relation between the contributions made by individuals and the benefits they receive in different systems and countries. It emerges that the public pension systems in Denmark, the Netherlands and the U.K. redistribute income from higher to lower earners, that the public pension system in Germany does not redistribute income, while the direct redistributive effects of the Swedish, Finnish, French and Norwegian public pension systems are ambiguous and can only be determined through empirical studies.