Elderly women living alone

149 Pages·2015·2.22 MB·English

DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICIES
POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS’ RIGHTS AND

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

WOMEN’S RIGHTS & GENDER EQUALITY

Elderly women living alone:

an update of their living conditions

STUDY

Abstract

Upon request by the FEMM Committee, this study presents recent changes in the living
conditions of elderly women living alone with a focus on the effects of recent pension
reforms and active ageing policies. The study is largely based on a literature review and a
desk analysis of the micro-data and information available at the European level, as well as
a qualitative analysis of good practices in active ageing introduced in recent years in six
countries selected as representative of European welfare systems.

PE 519.219 EN
DOCUMENT REQUESTED BY THE
COMMITTEE ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY

AUTHOR(S)
Istituto per la Ricerca Sociale (IRS)-Italy
Manuela Samek Lodovici (IRS), Project Director
Monica Patrizio (IRS), Flavia Pesce (IRS), Enrico Roletto (IRS)

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR

Ms. Erika Schulze
Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs
European Parliament
B-1047 Bruxelles
E-mail: [email protected]

Editorial assistant
Ms. Lucia-Cristina Achihaei

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS
Original: EN, FR, DE

ABOUT THE EDITOR

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European Parliament, manuscript completed in June 2015.
© European Union, Brussels, 2015.

This document is available on the Internet at:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies

DISCLAIMER

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do
not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament.

Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the
source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy.
Elderly women living alone: an update of their living conditions
CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................... 6
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. 9
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................... 10
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................. 11
1. AIMS AND CONTENT OF THE STUDY ....................................................... 17
1.1 Research approach ........................................................................... 17
1.2 Content of the study ......................................................................... 19
2. RECENT TRENDS IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS OF
ELDERLY WOMEN LIVING ALONE ........................................................... 20
2.1 Demographic trends and the increase in elderly women living alone ....... 20
2.2 Trends in living conditions and poverty risks among elderly women
living alone ...................................................................................... 24
2.2.1 Health conditions ...................................................................................... 24
2.2.2 Adequacy of income .................................................................................. 24
2.2.3 The risk of poverty .................................................................................... 27
2.2.4 Quality of life ........................................................................................... 30
2.3 Concluding remarks .......................................................................... 32
3. EFFECTS OF RECENT POLICY CHANGES IN PENSION REFORMS .............. 34
3.1 Main features of current pension systems and recent reform trends........ 35
3.2 Gender effects of pension reforms and women living alone .................... 41
3.2.1 The closer link between contributions and benefits ........................................ 45
3.2.2 The increase and equalization in retirement age ........................................... 47
3.2.3 The move towards a multi-pillar systems ..................................................... 50
3.2.4 The role of public minimum pension schemes ............................................... 52
3.2.5 Pension care credits .................................................................................. 54
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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs
3.2.6 Provisions for atypical workers ................................................................... 55
3.2.7 The role of derived pension benefits ............................................................ 55
3.3 Concluding remarks .......................................................................... 58
4. LABOUR MARKET REFORMS AND ACTIVE AGEING POLICIES AND
THEIR EFFECTS ON ELDERLY WOMEN LIVING ALONE ............................. 62
4.1 Recent trends in active ageing, training and labour market policies and
their expected effects on women living alone ....................................... 62
4.1.1 Measures to improve employability for the elderly ......................................... 64
4.1.2 Extending working life ............................................................................... 66
4.1.3 Working conditions and equal opportunities ................................................. 68
4.1.4 Training and lifelong learning for elderly workers .......................................... 69
4.1.5 Other active ageing practices and policies .................................................... 70
4.2 Labour market integration and social inclusion policies .......................... 72
4.2.1 Labour market integration ......................................................................... 72
4.2.2 Social inclusion policies .............................................................................. 73
4.3 Examples of good practices in active ageing policies ............................. 75
4.3.1 Supporting longer working lives, better working conditions and measures to
promote access to lifelong learning ............................................................. 77
4.3.2 Training, qualification and new technologies for the ageing workforce ............. 79
4.3.3 Intergenerational solidarity and Housing policies ........................................... 80
4.3.4 Measures to improve elderly-friendly public spaces, mobility and avoid social
isolation .................................................................................................. 80
4.3.5 Meeting places and voluntarism .................................................................. 81
4.3.6 Improving mobility .................................................................................... 82
4.4 Concluding remarks .......................................................................... 83
5. CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ................................. 85
5.1 Recent Trends in Labour Market and Living Conditions of Women Living
Alone .............................................................................................. 85
5.2 Recent Policy Changes affecting women living alone ............................. 86
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Elderly women living alone: an update of their living conditions
5.2.1 Pension reforms ........................................................................................ 86
5.2.2 Labour market and active ageing policies ..................................................... 88
5.3 Policy implications ............................................................................ 88
REFERENCES................................................................................................. 92
ANNEX I –DATA SOURCES AND DEFINITIONS ............................................... 98
ANNEX II – STATISTICS .............................................................................. 101
ANNEX III – LATEST PENSION REFORMS IN EU COUNTRIES ....................... 114
ANNEX IV – COUNTRY FICHES .................................................................... 123

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Elderly women living alone: an update of their living conditions
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

DB Defined Benefit schemes
DC Defined-contribution schemes
EC European Commission
ECJ European Court of Justice
EEO Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EGGSI Group of experts in gender equality, social inclusion,
health care and long term care
EHRC Equality and Human Rights Commission
EP Elderly people
ESF European Social Fund
EU – LFS European Labour Force Survey
EU European Union
EU-SILC European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions
GFTU General Federation of Trade Unions
ILO International Labour Organization
LF Lone female
LM Lone male
LSC Learning and Skills Council
MS Member States
NDC Notional defined-contribution schemes
NGO Non-governmental organization
noLF Not lone female
NRP National Reform Programme
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
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Elderly women living alone: an update of their living conditions
OJT On the job training
PAYG Pay-As-You-Go
SME Small and Medium Sized Enterprise
TUPE Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS OF EU COUNTRIES

BE Belgium
BG Bulgaria
CZ Czech Republic
DK Denmark
DE Germany
EE Estonia
IE Ireland
EL Greece
ES Spain
FR France
HR Croatia
IT Italy
CY Cyprus
LV Latvia
LT Lithuania
LU Luxembourg
HU Hungary
MT Malta
NL Netherlands
AT Austria
PL Poland
PT Portugal
RO Romania
SI Slovenia
SK Slovakia
FI Finland
SE Sweden
UK United Kingdom

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