Towards a new political economy of pensions? The implications for women

Abstract

This article employs a political economy approach to assess the changing nature of women's pension provision. Initially it provides an overview of the current context showing that many female pensioners are without access to significant pension entitlements in their own right. Then it examines the history of women's pensions over the last 30 years with reference to both state and private forms of provision. It considers the pension strategies of Thatcher and New Labour governments and their impact on women's pension situation. This includes an evaluation of recent New Labour proposals, such as Personal Accounts, a raise in the basic State Pension age and reintroduction of the link to earnings. Finally, the paper concludes that these proposals do not represent the emergence of a new political economy of pensions which better reflects the needs of female pensioners rather they are a response to the challenges of an ageing population.

Defamilisation and familisation measures: Can they reduce the adverse effects of pro-market pension reforms on women in Hong Kong and the UK?

“…It is evident that moves towards individual provision for retirement through private pensions are likely to result in greater income inequality between older women and men, and between those who have had an intermittent or low paid employment history and those with an advantaged position in the labour market (Foster, 2010). In essence the emphasis on financialised provision in pensions is creating new forms of gender inequality, and new forms of gendered insecurity.…”

Gendering Pensions: Making Women Visible

“…Furthermore, important empirical and theoretical contributions have been produced regarding the impact upon women of these gendered policies and organizational gender blindness as well as the implications for women's earning capacity and pension entitlements (Blake et al, 2007;Dex 1999;Foster, 2010;Ginn 2003Ginn , 2004Ginn , 2006Ginn , 2008Ginn , 2012Ginn and MacIntye, 2013;Ginn and Aber, 1993Glover and Arber, 1995;Mayer and Bridgen, 2008;Thane, 2002Thane, , 2006Thane, , 2010Walby, 2009). But despite the obvious connections between gender discrimination in the labour market and pension inequality later in life, the subject has received relatively little theoretical attention in the discipline of management and organization studies.…”

Women's pensions in the European Union and the current economic crisis

“…Pensions were predominantly designed for men with women intended to be indirect beneficiaries through marital bonds (Foster, 2010). They were traditionally strongly geared to the male-breadwinner model (Leschke, 2011).…”

“…It is notable that career breaks, most likely to be experienced by women, generally have a stronger impact on pension benefits in DC than in DB schemes as the calculation of benefits in DB schemes are not necessarily as closely related to the contribution record as in DC schemes (European Commission, 2010b). Furthermore, recent falling equity prices and declining annuity rates mean that a larger DC fund is now required to provide a decent retirement income (Foster, 2010). However, it is also worth noting that in 2011 the European Court of Justice banned gender-based risk calculations, meaning that unisex insurance contracts, including annuity rates, must be applied to private pensions which are likely to benefit women as a result of their greater longevity (Ebbinghaus and Whitehouse, 2012).…”