Correcting gender inequality in pensions. The experience of five European countries

Abstract

Owing to their lower workforce participation, women earn smaller pensions than men. Changes in conjugal behaviour and other factors mean that a growing number of women who are not widows will live alone during retirement. Their incomes will therefore depend more closely on their own accrued pension rights. In order to correct the gender gap in pensions, five European countries - Germany, Italy, the UK, Sweden and France - seem to be restricting the conditions for survivors' pensions while developing mechnisms to boost women's own rights, such as pension splitting and, more importantly, caring credits, to compensate for the impact of children on women's careers.