Gender and proposed Auto‐enrolment in the Republic of Ireland: Lessons from the UK

The introduction of “soft” compulsion in the form of Auto‐enrolment into non‐state pensions has been seen as a key policy response to the challenges presented by an ageing population and concerns about under‐saving for retirement in the UK. Since its introduction in 2012, amongst eligible employees in the private sector, pension participation had risen by over 31 percentage points to 73% of eligible employees in 2016. Despite these trends, Auto‐enrolment in the UK has not been without criticism, particularly in terms of its exclusion of certain groups, including carers, amongst whom females are over‐represented. The Republic of Ireland (ROI) has recently announced its intention to implement an Auto‐enrolment pension scheme. As such, this article examines the UK's experience of rolling out Auto‐enrolment policy and considers lessons that could be learned by the ROI from the UK in its pursuit of Auto‐enrolment, with a particular focus on women's pensions. Initially it outlines the current Irish pension system, the gendered nature of pensions, and the proposed Auto‐enrolment system in ROI. Then it discusses the UK's experience of Auto‐enrolment, with a particular focus on gender, before examining the lessons the ROI can learn from the UK's Auto‐enrolment policy in relation to women and pensions. Finally, it concludes that Auto‐enrolment alone will not resolve the gendered nature of pensions in the ROI and calls for a gender‐based assessment of the proposed policy of Auto‐enrolment in the ROI.     

‘I Might not Live That Long!’ A Study of Young Women's Pension Planning in the UK

There has been considerable concern about levels of pension saving especially given increases in longevity and rising pension deficits. In particular, the prospects of many future female pensioners have been questioned. As pensions are determined by contributions throughout the life course it is imperative to comprehend the attitudes, knowledge, expectations and savings habits of people from an early age to explore why under‐saving occurs. This is particularly pertinent given recent governments' emphasis on individual responsibility for financial provision in retirement. However, there is little research which focuses specifically on young women's attitudes or planning towards pensions despite considerable concern about the future of women's pensions. This article considers young women's (18–30) attitudes towards pensions and whether they differ according to socio‐economic status by using interviews with 15 women (five in routine and manual occupations, five intermediate, five professional and managerial) about how knowledge and choice, trust, responsibility, risk and uncertainty impact on their pension decisions. It is evident that the ability and willingness of people to contribute to a pension depends, among other things, on the pension offered by employers, the pension requirements in place and immediate financial needs. Therefore this article shows that pension policy needs to take into account women's employment histories, which are often fragmented and diverse, when considering young women's attitudes towards pension saving.     

Variability in the Inter‐group Attitudes of White Children: What We Can Learn from Their Ethnic Identity Labels

The current study examined the ethnic identity of White (N = 120), Latino (N = 87), and African‐American (N = 65) children and early adolescents (aged = 9–14 years), with an emphasis on whether the specific ethnic label White children used to describe themselves might reflect differences in their inter‐group attitudes and whether those differences mirror group differences between White children and children in ethnic minority groups. Results indicated that White children who identified with a minority label (i.e., White biracial, hyphenated American, ethnic/cultural/religious label) had more positive ethnic identities, were more aware of discrimination, and were less likely to show biases in their perceived similarity to in‐group and out‐group peers than youth who identified as White or American. In many instances, White children who identified with a minority label did not differ from ethnic minority youth. In addition, although all participants were more positive about their ethnic in‐group than out‐groups, children who identified their ethnicity as American were less positive about out‐groups relative to other children. Taken together, the findings indicate that children's self‐chosen ethnic identity is as important as their ascribed ethnic or racial identity in predicting their inter‐group attitudes.     

A State‐centred Explanation of the Finance‐Pension Nexus: New Zealand's Pension Reforms as a Typical Case

This study analyses the decision‐making processes that led to the introduction of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (a public pension reserve and investment fund), as well as the KiwiSaver Scheme, which is New Zealand's first soft‐compulsory private pension scheme. Why and how are governments engaged in the development of funded pensions? These are the questions this study addresses. In analyzing the finance‐pension nexus in New Zealand, this article adopts a state‐centric approach. It argues that pension funding reforms are shaped by state officials who pursue their own motives because policymakers frame funded pensions as an instrument for achieving broader fiscal, economic and financial policy outcomes. Because New Zealand is a typical case of a state‐centric explanation, a study of its pension funding reforms helps in finding causal links between finance and pensions.     

A Disaster Foretold? The Case of the Personal Pension

With the creation of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) in 1975, pensions policy in the UK was characterized by a consensus between the Labour and Conservative parties. By the mid 1980s, under the influence of New Right ideas, the Conservatives had broken with this consensus. Conservative pensions policy now centred on the ideological objectives of promoting individual property ownership and pension provision “independent”of the State. Such objectives were central to the creation of personal pensions under the 1986 Social Security Act. This article examines the political background to the emergence of this policy and seeks to evaluate how far the stated aims have been achieved. It does this by analysing the current controversy over methods of selling personal pensions and by looking at statistical evidence on the incomes of individuals who have taken out personal pensions. The argument concludes that personal pensions have been, predominantly, taken out by groups with low incomes, and the combination of low contributions and transaction costs threatens to lead to inadequate pension provision; such problems are likely to be particularly marked for women. In turn this conclusion, when set in the context of the tax regime applying to personal pensions, raises further doubts over the extent to which “independent”pension provision is likely to be achieved.     

Voluntary Pension Saving for Old Age: Are the Objectives of Self‐responsibility and Security Compatible?

Fiscal pressure and demographic change lead governments to seek ways of reducing state expenditure on pensions. Individuals are asked to take more responsibility, and funded, supplementary pension schemes have been established in many countries. This article looks at schemes that are voluntary – the NEST or Personal Accounts scheme in Britain and the Riester Pension scheme in Germany. It examines the debate about whether it is worthwhile for some people to participate in pension schemes that are not mandatory – particularly those with low incomes and/or potentially broken careers. The small pensions they accumulate in such schemes merely offset entitlements to means‐tested pension benefits, leaving them no better off in old age. Concerns about the behavioural consequences of pension means‐testing are not new. Nonetheless, few policymakers have been willing to look at when and how such concerns were expressed in the context of voluntary pension savings. Equally, they have seldom been prepared to explain the costs involved in guaranteeing savings‐based pensions or the implications that the lack of offering such a guarantee might have for individual behaviour. The state has sought for people to take greater ‘self‐responsibility’ for their retirement income, but many people wish for some certainty with respect to the pensions they can expect. These goals might well be in conflict. Whether the ‘state pension for the 21st century’, as proposed by the UK government, will succeed in satisfying the objectives both of the state and of pension savers remains an open question.     

Racial Disparities in Welfare Dependence and Financial Independence: Links to Human Capital,Local Economy,and State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Policies

This secondary data analysis examined racial disparities in associations betwen welfare dependence/financial independence and human capital, local economy, and state TANF policies. A sample of 6,737 parents was extracted from the public-use data set titled “National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.” Results showed that restrictive TANF policies reduced African Americans’ likelihood of welfare use and increased likelihood of their financial independence. Multinomial logistic results also showed that, among Hispanics, employment growth in neighboring counties promoted welfare use; whereas among Caucasians such growth promoted financial independence. County poverty increased (a) Caucasians’ likelihood of welfare use and (b) Hispanics’ likelihood of being working poor; it decreased Caucasians’ and African Americans’ likelihood of financial independence. Across ethnic groups, education reduced likelihood of welfare use and working poor status; across minority groups, education increased likelihood of financial independence, but among Caucasians it decreased such likelihood. Across ethnic groups, occupational skills hindered dependence and improved odds of employment (regardless of welfare or poverty status). This study concluded the studied TANF policies and job markets were not color-blind. Interventions this study implies include less-restrictive TANF policies, generous support services, TANF staff cultural-competence training, and antidiscrimination rules. Research investigating particular TANF policies’ and services’ effects by ethnicity might prove useful.     

The gender impact of National Pension reforms in the Republic of Korea

This article examines the gender impact of National Pension reforms in the Republic of Korea. In 2007, the Korean government introduced an income-tested basic old-age pension scheme paying flat-rate benefits. It also introduced credited pension coverage periods for child rearing and changed entitlement conditions for divorcees and widows and widowers. This paper examines the impact of these policy changes for individuals with shorter working lives and lower wages, for survivors and for the traditional social protection role played by the family in Korea. Findings indicate that the reforms have some positive features. However, the reforms still offer better value for those with higher earnings and an uninterrupted employment history, both of which are more characteristic of male workers. Moreover, the important income security role played by the family is still strongly embedded in the provisions and the protection available to survivors remains weak.     

Fit for Work? The Influence of Sick Pay and Job Flexibility on Sickness Absence and Implications for Presenteeism

Recent developments in UK policy on health and employment have sought to change perceptions about what constitutes ‘fitness for work’. With the aim of reducing the incidence and duration of sickness absence, a range of initiatives, including the introduction of the ‘fit note’, are challenging the belief that it is necessary to be 100 per cent well in order to be at work. However, this article suggests that contextual factors independent of health may also influence people's decisions about whether or not to attend work at times of reduced wellness. Drawing upon data from a qualitative study of mental health and employment, this article illustrates how the terms and conditions of a person's employment may influence sickness absence decisions in a number of ways. It is argued that sick pay provisions, size of employer and nature of work may influence both decisions to take time off and decisions about when to return to work. The degree of flexibility to manage one's workload around times of poorer health may also have a bearing on whether people feel able to carry on with their work without recourse to sickness absence. Therefore, it may be important for policy interventions to consider not only health circumstances but also structural/contextual influences on conceptualizations of being ‘fit for work’. The implications of such contextually‐influenced decision‐making for ‘presenteeism’ are also considered. It is suggested that current conceptualizations of presenteeism are somewhat ambiguous; employees coming to work despite ill health is simultaneously presented as a problem and an aspiration.     

Ethno-religious identities and persisting penalties in the UK labor market

Most studies of minority group penalties in the UK labor market have focused on groups classified by their self-assessed ethnicity only, without taking into account major divisions within such groups, notably by religion. Using a large sample taken from the quarterly Labor Force Survey, this paper analyze levels of both unemployment and obtaining posts within the salariat for fourteen separate ethno-religious groups. Estimates of both gross and net penalties are derived, the latter taking the individuals’ human capital resources into account. They show that most non-White groups face an employment penalty, but Muslim groups – both men and women – experienced the greatest penalties. These penalties are exacerbated when searching for any job turns into searching for a managerial or a professional job suggesting that inequality is preserved through mechanisms of color and cultural racism which intensifies as minority workers seek jobs at the more lucrative end of the labor market – which, if persistent, could have long-term implications for the cohesion of the UK's multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society.     

Pan‐European pension funds: Current situation and future prospects

The competitive pressures arising from European economic integration increasingly challenge the territorial sovereignty of national welfare states. This generates the need to situate domestic social security schemes amid the European Union's national and supranational as well as economic and social spaces. At the trans‐national level, the European Commission's 2003 Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) Directive created the illusion that a single market for occupational pensions would shortly be within reach. This did not happen, however, as IORPs — being at one and the same time financial vehicles and social insurance institutions — embody the constitutional asymmetry between policies promoting market efficiency and policies promoting social protection. Whereas the elimination of financial and tax barriers has proceeded smoothly, harmonization of the social and labour components within the occupational pension domain did not occur, slowing down the development of pan‐European pension plans. Nonetheless the road towards a single occupational pension market is still open, with first positive results emerging from the greater involvement of corporate and supranational actors.     

The work prospects of older employees: An international comparison

The labour markets in the European Community countries are faced with a massive change in the structural composition of employee age groups. This article examines the employment prospects for older persons in selected European countries. The first, introductory section gives a quantitative comparison of existing levels of employment of older persons. This group is defined on the basis of the Eurostat labour force statistics; it comprises those aged over 50 but under 65. The second section aims to give an overall picture of the different types of early pension and the different methods by which older employees were taken off the labour market in the past. In the 1970s and 1980s the countries of Europe took numerous measures to bring about early cessation of work and early pensions for older persons, in order to reduce the labour surplus at a time when unemployment was increasing. In future, however, employee age structures will develop on opposite lines (third section): demographic change will affect pensions policy financially (extending working life rather than pensioning workers off). The change in company employee age structures will begin in the 1990s. This new impending trend calls for longer-term adjustments in employment policies: these will be considered in the fourth, concluding section of the article.     

Understanding My Culture Means Understanding Myself: The Function of Cultural Identity Clarity for Personal Identity Clarity and Personal Psychological Well‐Being

Culture is acknowledged to be a critical element in the construction of an individual's identity; however, in today's increasingly multicultural environments, the influence of culture is no longer straightforward. It is now important to explore cultural identity clarity—the extent to which beliefs about identity that arise from one's cultural group membership(s) are clearly and confidently understood. We describe a novel theoretical model to explain why having a clear and confident understanding of one's cultural identity is important for psychological well‐being, as it clarifies one's understanding of personal identity. We propose that a clear cultural identity clarifies one's personal existence, by providing a clear normative template, reducing personal uncertainty, providing an individual with a sense of continuity, and buffering an individual against the fear of death. We discuss the implications of this model within our complex cultural worlds.     

When Past Reforms Open New Opportunities: Comparing Old-age Insurance Reforms in Bismarckian Welfare Systems

France, Italy, Germany, Austria and Spain have all gone through several waves of pension reforms both in the 1990s and in the early 2000s. Comparing the politics of these reforms shows some similar trends: reforms were usually postponed until European integration and/or economic recession forced governments to act. Before the first wave of reforms, the main form of ‘action’ had been to increase payroll taxes to finance pensions. In the 1990s, reforms were usually negotiated on the basis of a quid pro quo: benefits were intended progressively to decrease in exchange for non-contributory pensions being financed from general tax revenues instead of through the insurance schemes. The second wave of reforms (during the 2000s) seems to have brought more innovation, with new goals such as the development of voluntary private pension funds and the need to increase employment rates among the elderly and to stop early retirement. The article aims, first, to trace the political processes leading to these reforms; second, to reveal the commonalities in these processes between the various cases; and third, to highlight the differences between the first and second waves of pension reform. It will emphasize the role of ‘sequencing’ and demonstrate how each pension reform facilitates the adoption of the next one.     

Universal age pensions in developing countries: The example of Mauritius

Mauritius, a small developing country located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, has provided older residents with non‐contributory age pensions since 1950. The scheme became universal in 1958. Mild income tests were reintroduced in 1965 and again in 2004. Targeting proved to be unpopular, and universality each time was restored. Government added a mandatory, contributory tier in 1978 that does not replace the flat, non‐contributory pension. Instead, it promises participants (approximately half the labour force) an income‐related benefit to top up the universal pension. The author examines Mauritius's long experience, drawing lessons from it for other developing countries.     

Women's pensions in Sweden

This article analyses the effect of the Swedish pension rules on women's and men's pensions. This is done on the basis of an empirical analysis of a representative sample of the population. The study indicates that the rules are least advantageous for women in typical low-wage occupations. I also relate different people's pension benefits to what they have had to pay into the pension system in the course of their working lives. My calculations show that female low-wage earners probably have to pay more for their pensions than other groups.     

Racial/Ethnic Inequality Among Older Workers: Focusing On Whites,Blacks, and Latinos Within the Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage Framework

The experience of older racial/ethnic minority workers may differ from that of their non-Hispanic White counterparts because of persistent racial/ethnic differences; however, our knowledge of older minority workers is fragmentary. Using the cumulative advantage/disadvantage framework, this study aimed to identify factors that explain older Americans’ labor market participation after age 65 and whether racial/ethnic differences exist among those factors. Using the 2004 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study data, racially separate analyses were performed to systematically compare factors by race. The results showed that factors influencing labor force participation after age 65 were indeed conditioned by race. Health and meaning of work significantly influenced non-Hispanic Whites, whereas home ownership increased the odds of working among non-Hispanic Blacks, and Latinos were concerned with health alone. The findings suggest that older ethnic minorities appear to experience a greater vulnerability to involuntary labor market exit—as opposed to personal preference or financial necessity. This racial/ethnic inequality should be understood not as sudden occurrences in old age, but as a by-product of the interplay between the individuals’ lifetime experiences and the social structures that impose cumulative advantages/disadvantages on them. Continued research will help reduce racial gaps in the next generation of older workers.     

Actuarial Forecasts for The New National Pension Scheme in The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic introduced a systemic reform of the national pension scheme as from 1 June 2003, replacing the imperfect state‐run defined benefit scheme with a substitutive scheme that is privately run. The new scheme came into being on the eve of a severe economic crisis and investment restrictions on Central Bank issues led to a negative real yield of 22 per cent in its first year of operation, although a return to a positive cumulative yield was forecast for the second half of 2005. The new scheme has been unable to increase overall coverage, requires structural and operational adjustments and has not yet credited the value of capitalized recognition bonds to individual accounts. It is thus essential to allow the thousands of older members who were transferred to the funded scheme and whose pensions will be far below what they would have been under the pay‐as‐you‐go scheme to rejoin the latter if they wish to do so, as well as to take steps to improve the transparency of the annuities market and eligibility for disability and survivors' pensions.     

Old‐age protection for women in the Spanish pension system

The example of Spain confirms the common view that contributory pension systems reproduce inequalities between the sexes that result from the nature of labour market structures and the sharing of family responsibilities. In general, women who stay at home are not entitled to their own pensions and are dependent on benefits of lower value such as survivors' pensions (derived entitlements) or non‐contributory pensions. In turn, women who work outside the home accrue lower entitlements than men and, consequently, lower old‐age or disability pensions (personal entitlements). The purpose of this article is to examine the figures for pension distribution by sex in Spain, review some of the pension policies that have been implemented since 2000, and propose direct action for progress in the transition from derived entitlements to personal entitlements. These proposals are designed to promote sex equality, defined as the right to equal well‐being and financial security in old age.