For Richer, For Poorer Dr. Debora Price Talk delivered to Putney High School 6th Form 7 th October 2009

I, (Bride/Groom), take you (Groom/Bride), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

Gerontology... the study of ageing

How old is old? Under 40? Between 41 and 50? Between 51 and 60? Between 61 and 70? Between 71 and 80? Between 81 and 90? Over 90?

Quiz: True or False Half of all girls aged 16 in 2009 in the United Kingdom are expected to live beyond the age of 90 True – median life expectancy for a girl aged 16 in 2009 is 90.6 years old. It is plausible that half of this cohort will live to 97.

Quiz: True or False There are currently more than 1 million people over the age of 85 living in the United Kingdom today True: Of the 61.4 million people, there are over 1.3 million people over 85 living in the United Kingdom – almost double the number in The over 85s are the fastest growing population age group.

Quiz: True or False There are currently more than 10,000 people over the age of 100 living in the United Kingdom today False, but only just. There are estimated to be 9,600 centenarians living in the United Kingdom. There are about 309,000 women and 108,000 men over the age of 90.

Inequality and poverty in old age Partnering, motherhood and earnings Money management (behind closed doors)

Do you agree or disagree? In our generation, men and women should be equal and independent within partnerships Individuals should take the responsibility for whether they save for a pension

Gender differences in net weekly income, men and women in couples, over 65 MedianMedian gap Median women's income as % of men's AGEMenWomen All 65+ £180 £69 £11039% n= 1,850/1.441 Source: ELSA, Wave 1, 2002/3 Note: includes individual income from paid work, private and occupational pensions, state pensions, income support, state benefits, income from assets and all other sources of income. All income is measured at the individual level (although one partner often answers for both), except income from assets, which has been apportioned equally between partners. 13

Quintiles of Individual Income, 65+ in Couples, according to sex 14 Source: ELSA, Wave 1, 2002/3 Couples where at least one member is over 65

But what about for young people?

The gender pay gap widened last year... The gender pay gap for hourly earnings, excluding overtime; April 1997 to April 2008, Source: Office for National Statistics 2009

Quiz: True or False Nowadays, boys and girls who graduate from university will earn similar amounts on graduation False – in a study following university graduates for seven years, research showed that men begin to earn more than women in the year after graduation, and that the gap then grows.

The gender pay gap widens for graduates each year after graduation Source: Purcell and Elias 2008

Children and Earnings 54% of mothers with a child under 5 are in employment, 66% with a child under 16; the majority part-time 91% of fathers are in employment, almost all full time Fathers work the longest hours of all men The motherhood ‘pay gap’ & the fatherhood ‘premium’ 19

20 Source: General Household Survey 2000/1 and 2001/2, mothers whose dependent children live elsewhere, and those looking after others’ children have been excluded; authors’ analysis

21 Source: General Household Survey 2000/1 and 2001/2, mothers whose dependent children live elsewhere, and those looking after others’ children have been excluded; authors’ analysis

22 Degree of Earnings Inequality within Couples: Women aged 20 to 59 Source: General Household Survey 2000/1 and 2001/2

Influence of degree of inequality (dependence) after multivariate analysis: likelihood of contributing to a voluntary pension 23 Source: General Household Survey 2000/1 and 2001/2

Behind closed doors... “I’d earned my money and that were my savings and he earned his money and if he wished to save or spend it that was his, up to him. But as long as our bills were paid, what we did with our money was up to us.” Alexa Source: Burgoyne and Sonnenberg, 2009

Behind closed doors... “The way I look at it is that Mark goes to work and earns a salary, and that is really nothing to do with me... once our bills and our mortgage and everything is paid at the end of the month, whatever’s left over is his and I shouldn’t have any entitlement to that”. Sally Source: Burgoyne and Sonnenberg, 2009

Even couples who share (pool) their money don’t have freedom to spend... “I mean, probably my only thing is it would be quite nice to have a certain – we’ve talked about it but we’ve never bothered really – having your own money, a little bit of money to, to spend and – not because I’d want to not tell about it but just to feel its mine to spend...” Sarah Source: Burgoyne and Sonnenberg, 2009

27 Gendered households, gendered labour Within couples, women take on care work Men work long hours, take responsibility For family income Women who care can’t compete In the labour market Women take low paid, flexible work In female dominated industries Women’s work is low paid, with poor working conditions Gendered Identities and Dependencies Adapted from Bellamy and Rake (2005)

Does equality/fairness mean making equal contributions? If Damien earns £450 a week and Alice earns £250 a week, and they each contribute £200 a week to the household outgoings of £400 a week.....Damien has left £______ to spend for himself, and.....Alice has £________

Do you agree or disagree? Damien and Alice have a fair financial arrangement

Does equality/fairness mean contributing the same proportions? If Damien earns £450 a week and Alice earns £250 a week, and they each contribute 57% of their income to the household outgoings of £400 a week (Damien = £257 a week, and Alice £143).....Damien has left £______ to spend for himself, and.....Alice has £________

Do you agree or disagree? Damien and Alice have a fair financial arrangement

Does equality/fairness mean having the same amount to spend on yourself? If Damien earns £450 a week and Alice earns £250 a week, Damien contributes £300 (67%) and Alice contributes £100 (40%) to the household outgoings of £400 a week.....Damien has left £______ to spend for himself, and.....Alice has £________

Do you agree or disagree? Damien and Alice have a fair financial arrangement

Impact on later life Because of how men and women organise their lives, AND Differences in pay and conditions in the labour market, Women, especially mothers, generally don’t have enough money to contribute to pensions The spare money they have they tend to spend on children, family and home The way younger couples organise money behind closed doors means that women generally don’t save for the long term It is very very rare for men to pay into pensions for their wives/partners

Reflections