More Years – Better Lives Social systems & Welfare WG2 Eskil Wadensjö and Andreas Motel-Klingebiel June 11, 2012

2 Life changes and institutional fit Demographic changes and parallel changes in othe societal spheres –Educational programs –Social protection income transfer programs –Tax systems –Care for older people (and others) –Labour relations Effects for different groups –Women and men –Migrants and natives Differences between EU countries

3 Pensions Financing problems Changes –Higher minimum age for taking up a pension –Lower pensions –Higher fees, more funding (premium reserve) –Larger role for occupational and personal pensions –From defined benefit to defined contribution –Part-time pensions Effects for different groups –Social and ethical problems

4 Care provision Long-term care (LTC) for more years Variations in organisation between countries –Formal and informal care –In-kind or cash Comparisons of costs and benefits of different systems The role of the public sector Who are employed in the public sector?

5 Employment performance Changes in labour demand Age for taking up a pension and age for leaving the labour market Policies for retaining people in the labour market Large differences between countries – why?

6 Gender aspects Large differences between and men regarding labour market careers and life expectancy Large differences between countries How should the pension systems be designed to be fair? Working conditions in the care sector (most of those working in the sector are women) Migrant women in the informal care sector

7 European policy? Increased employment (and growth) Large differences between EU countries Learning by each other experiences Mobility between EU countries – what are the consequences?

8 Distributive and economic performance How to formulate a fair policy –Pensions –Care The economic crisis and policy formulation –What changes are possible in a period of crisis? –How to design policies that are welfare improving

9 Data issues Comparable register data covering the populations Interview and postal surveys covering several countries Investments in high quality data necessary

10 The next steps What steps are necessary? Where and why is action needed? How could joint action look like?