Lifecourses, pensions and poverty among elderly women in Belgium: interactions between family history, work history and pension regulations

Abstract

The precarious financial situation of many elderly women in developed countries is well established. Nevertheless, in-depth insight into the persistent vulnerability of this group remains largely absent. In this article, we demonstrate how a specific focus on the interaction between work history, family history and pension regulations can provide greater insight into the mechanisms that produce poverty among elderly women in Belgium. To that end, we make use of register data on some 9,000 women aged 65–71. Data on the poverty risk of these women is linked to career and family data, spanning over 45 years. We find that pension policy can indeed account for the higher poverty risk of some groups of elderly women (e.g. divorcees) as compared to others (e.g. widows). Similarly, pension policy can, to a large extent, directly or indirectly explain how previous lifecourse events, such as marital dissolution or childbirth, affect old-age poverty risk. However, our study also reveals some unexpected findings. Most notably, pension regulations fail to account for the beneficial situation of married women. Indeed, our analyses suggest that capital (income) may prove more decisive than pension rights in explaining the low poverty risk of married women when compared to other marital groups. Drawing from our findings, we conclude with some suggestions as to where pension policy should go from here.

Older people in Sweden without means: on the importance of age at immigration for being ‘twice poor’

“…It should be noted that in many countries, the risk of poverty at an older age is higher for women than men. In a study of poverty at an older age in Belgium, Peeters and De Tavernier (2015) used register data on approximately 9,000 randomly selected women aged 65–71 years living in Belgium in 2008 to examine the interaction between work history, family history and pension regulations for women. The results indicate that married and widowed women had the lowest risk of poverty, and that married women's advantaged situation could not be explained by pension regulations; instead, income derived from capital in the form of jointly accumulated household assets was a possible explanation.…”

Is There a Child Penalty in Pensions? The Role of Caregiver Credits in the French Retirement System

“…However, some recent work examines these issues from a life-cycle perspective, showing that cumulative gains are significantly reduced by fertility (Adda et al 2017). The impact of maternity on life-cycle earnings is usually reflected in lower pension entitlements, as shown by a growing body of literature (Davies et al 2000;Brugiavini et al 2011;Sefton et al 2011;Möhring 2015;Peeters and De Tavernier 2015;Neels et al 2018;Rutledge et al 2017). However, the link between pensions and earnings is not direct, nor is it obvious.…”

Inner strength and its relationship to health threats in ageing—A cross‐sectional study among community‐dwelling older women

“…Living alone as an older woman is associated with being in a difficult socioeconomic situation (Gaymu & Springer, ), feeling lonely and being frailer (Bergland & Engedal, ). Overall, older women have poorer financial conditions and lower levels of education than men (Borglin et al., ; Peeters & Wouter, ). To summarize, older women can be considered a vulnerable group in society, that is having limited resources and increased relative risk for illness as well as increased morbidity and mortality (Flaskerud & Winslow, ).…”

“…Overall, older women have poorer financial conditions and lower levels of education than men (Borglin et al, 2005;Peeters & Wouter, 2015). To summarize, older women can be considered a vulnerable group in society, that is having limited resources and increased relative risk for illness as well as increased morbidity and mortality (Flaskerud & Winslow, 1998).…”