Description
Symposium: Gender and Pensions Reform: Norms, Vulnerabilities and ConsequencesWithin Europe, the main underlying dynamic of pension reforms is to shift the expectation that the state will/is obliged to provide a pension with defined benefits that would replace average (and in some cases the last year’s) earned income pre-retirement. Options such as increase in retirement age, increased contribution by workers and privatization of pension funds are dominating the debate. Already policy measures have been introduced in Ireland and the UK to increase retirement age for new entrants and pensionable age for those currently employed as well as tax relief on private pensions. Another key element of pension reform is shifting the responsibility from the state to individuals and employers. While these measures did result in increased pension contributions to a limited extent, a remaining challenge is that occupational pensions system is not uniform throughout the private sector. One response to this challenge is the adoption of the policy of auto enrolment in occupational pensions in Ireland and the UK by 2014. The pensions reforms underway as well as those being suggested have significant gender implications, which are often neglected in the debate (Murphy and McCashin, 2008). For example, with an Irish pension system traditionally orientated around the male breadwinner framework, furthering the links between formal employment, earnings and pensions through an emphasis on occupational pensions, may only serve to exacerbate any prevalent gender disparity in pension coverage in Ireland. This symposium will examine the gender effects of pension reforms by exploring the role of gender norms in defining options for women and men in terms of pension provision, discussing the specific vulnerabilities of women in formal and informal employment with respect to occupational and private pensions, and highlighting the different work-life trajectories and strategies for securing adequate pension provision for women.
Period | 3 Nov 2011 |
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Event type | Conference |
Degree of Recognition | International |
Keywords
- social security
- welfare state
- gender
- women
- pensions
- Ireland
Documents & Links
Related content
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Activities
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Older women workers' access to pensions: findings (Northern Ireland)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
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Research output
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Older women workers' access to pensions: vulnerabilities, perspectives and strategies
Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review