Gender, pensions and the lifecourse

Increased life expectancy, growing public awareness of private pension risks and declining state pensions have all fuelled a sense of crisis in current pension policy. An emerging consensus sees British pension policy as unravelling. Yet the gender impact of expanding private pension provision and relying increasingly on means-testing has been largely overlooked. This provocative book examines how shifting gender relations in successive cohorts interact with pension reforms, raising questions about distributional equity in the context of gendered familial responsibilities. New patterns of pension advantage are emerging, influenced by partnership status, parenthood, class and ethnicity. Chapters examine key issues in the pensions debate: how pension choices over the lifecourse are structured by gender, class and ethnicity; the impact of changing patterns of partnership and parenthood on pension building; the distributional impact of privatising pensions; questions about individualisation of rights, survivor benefits, a citizen's pension and means-testing; the EU dimension - comparing alternative strategies for improving gender equity. The book is essential reading for teachers, researchers and students in social gerontology, sociology, social policy and women's studies; practitioners in social work and welfare rights; policy makers concerned with income in later life; and all those who wish to improve their understanding of pensions issues.