Securing Pension Provision : The Challenge of Reforming the Age of Entitlement

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. By comparing Germany, France, the UK and the USA this study explores how governments have tackled the increased pressure of financing state pensions. Specifically, it looks at the approach of each of these countries to raising the age of entitlement in order to understand the ways in which this policy was introduced in different countries. With population ageing, policymakers globally have been confronted with the challenge of designing sustainable pension systems capable of meeting increased demand whilst providing pensioners with an adequate income. One of the most widely advocated measures to relieve the increased pressure on the public purse is raising the age at which individuals are able to claim a state pension. This sensitive and highly politicised policy often meets with resistance. How have some countries been able to increase the age of entitlement for state pensions while others have failed? This study analyses reforms measures in the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the United States, considering the triggers and factors at work in the policy-making process and seeks to identify patterns and trends. In all four countries, despite differences in pension structure, similar measures have been taken to encourage or impose a delay in the take-up of state pensions. The study explores the similarities and differences between these in order to establish whether the rationale for raising the entitlement age was the same in each case, whether the reforms had the same aim and whether they addressed the same problem "Cover"--"Half-Title" -- "Title" -- "Copyright" -- "Dedication" -- "Contents" -- "List of Figures" -- "List of Tables" -- "Introduction" -- "Part I The World of Analysis: Pension Systems and Their Reforms in OECD Countries" -- "1 Ordering Chaos" -- "2 Changing Ages" -- "3 Beyond Convergence and Divergence: Choosing the Cases" -- "Part II Analysing Pensionable Age Changes in Four Countries" -- "4 Early Birds and Laggards? A Comparison of the USA and France" -- "5 Similar, Yet Different? A Comparison of Germany and the United Kingdom" -- "Part III Bringing the Stories Together" -- "6 Acting and Reacting: The Publicâ#x80;#x93;Private Interplay in Pensionable Age Reforms" -- "7 Acquiring the Ability to Reform" -- "8 Reconciling the Approaches" -- "Conclusion" -- "References." Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-10 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 Ordering Chaos....Pages 12-21 Changing Ages....Pages 22-32 Beyond Convergence and Divergence: Choosing the Cases....Pages 33-36 Front Matter....Pages 37-37 Early Birds and Laggards? A Comparison of the USA and France....Pages 38-63 Similar, Yet Different? A Comparison of Germany and the United Kingdom....Pages 64-81 Front Matter....Pages 82-82 Acting and Reacting: The Public-Private Interplay in Pensionable Age Reforms....Pages 83-97 Acquiring the Ability to Reform....Pages 98-117 Reconciling the Approaches....Pages 118-129 Conclusion....Pages 130-135 Back Matter....Pages 136-152