The gender dimensions of pension systems

ARZA, CAMILA

Berlín

Conferencia; "Thanks Otto, 125 years of pensions and new global perspectives"; 2014

German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), HelpAge International, HelpAge Deutschland and Allianz Group

Gender equality is one of the key challenges confronted by pension systems around the world. In a context of gendered labour markets, contributory pension systems face several constraints to guarantee universal and adequate pension benefits for women. Women?s life courses are characterized by longer periods dedicated to taking care of others, lower labour market participation, more part-time work and lower earnings. All these features compromise their pension entitlements in pension systems that link benefits to paid work, contributions and earnings. This paper deals with the challenges and constraints that pension systems face to be gender equitable and the policy alternatives to address these challenges. The economic protection of women in later life depends on several factors that intersect, including pension system rules, labour marketconditions and family arrangements over the past and present. This paper focuses on pension system rules and how they interact with other social and labour market conditions over women?s life courses to reproduce or mitigate gender inequalities in old age.