Pension Policy in EU25 and its Possible Impact on ElderlyPoverty

This paper reviews changes in pension policies in EU countries between 1995 and2005 and describes how they might affect risk of poverty for future pensionerpopulations. The pension landscape in Europe has changed considerably in the pastdecade and the paper highlights commonalities as well as differences in pensionreforms across these countries. A common trend is that the retirement incomes drawnfrom the public pension systems are on the decline, the changes are likely to shiftmore risks towards individuals, and there are fewer possibilities of redistribution infavour of the lower income individuals. The paper includes exploratory projections ofhow the risk of elderly poverty might evolve in the future. The countries where thebenefit ratio is set to decline significantly, as expected, would see at-risk-poverty ratesincrease quite substantially, especially during the period 2025-2050, when the bulk ofthe decline is expected. This analysis points towards the importance of a morecomprehensive assessment of the reforms, in particular in their impact on vulnerablegroups (such as women and disabled people with disruptive work history) and in theclarity of the signals they give to individuals in extending their working career if theywant to avoid greater risks of poverty during retirement.[...]