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

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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.