Factors Modulating the Attitude towards the Introduction of Pension Reforms: A Comparative Analysis

Recent demographic and social changes have constrained the sustainability of the so called pay-as-you-go pension scheme enforced worldwide. Reforms lengthening the working life and increasing contributions are often perceived as the answer to the issue although their introduction is often opposed by the public. In this paper we analyze the motivation behind attitudes towards pension and retirement and how these attitudes vary across countries. We argue that anthropological inheritance accounts for these differences together with social and economic factors. Together they create norms among those experiencing similar patterns. Using multi-level regressions applied to data from the third round of the European Social Survey (ESS), we analyse individuals? attitudes towards retirement and their attitudes towards pension systems.