Welfare Reform on the Web (June 2004): Pensions - Overseas

EUROPEAN PENSION PROVISION: TAKING ACCOUNT OF GENDER

J. Ginn

Social Policy and Society, vol.3, 2004, p.123-134

Article takes issue with the view that pension privatisation need not be to the detriment of social cohesion and the needs of the vulnerable. It shows how women, in particular, are disadvantaged by private pensions. Comparing state and private pensions from a gender perspective reveals that the former are better able to reduce the adverse effects of unpaid caring on women's pension income.

NATIONAL PENSION SYSTEMS AND MASS OPINION: A CASE STUDY OF CONFIDENCE, SATISFACTION AND POLITICAL ATTITUDES IN NORWAY.

A.-H. Bay and A.W. Pedersen

International Journal of Social Welfare, vol.13, 2004, p.112-123

Survey data do not indicate that fears of an outright collapse of the Norwegian national insurance system are widespread. On the other hand, the overall degree of satisfaction with prospective old-age pensions is fairly low among the working population. A clear majority reports believing that projected benefits will be insufficient to cover economic needs in retirement. At the same time, only a minority of the population favours privatisation of the pension system.

PRIVATISING OLD-AGE SECURITY: LATIN AMERICA AND EASTERN EUROPE COMPARED

K. Muller

Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004

This book follows the reform of pension systems in eight countries. All cases were slightly different but there was a surprisingly high degree of similarity in common trends towards partial privatisation. The author focuses on the factors that influenced the political processes in the counties concerned, including how far the World Bank and other international institutions can persuade governments to accept their thinking

WESTERN EUROPEAN PENSION PROVISION: A RESPONSE TO JAY GINN

M. Hyde, J. Dixon and G. Drover

Social Policy and Society, vol.3, 2004, p.135-141

The authors argue that Ginn's analysis fails to appreciate the crucial difference between voluntary and state-mandated private pension provision in Western Europe. It therefore does not invalidate the authors' proposition that the state-mandated provision of private pensions is consistent with the notion of collective responsibility for needs satisfaction.