Abstract

Ageing societies are challenging for national pension systems. In Germany, fundamental reform dates back to the 1990s when early retirement was restricted. German welfare state reforms, first and foremost the raising of the retirement age and the flexiblisation of the labour market lead to pension gaps for already disadvantaged social groups.

Due to opposite shifts in labour market and pension reforms, pension gaps among the insured become more likely: On the one side, pension reforms intended the extension of working lives with restricted access to early retirement options and an increasing standard age of retirement. Labour market reforms on the other side lead to an expansion of non-standard employment with increasing rates of part-time workers and employment without social security contributions. This flexibilisation of employment is in contrast to a more and more standardised transition to retirement. Reasons for potential disadvantages for later cohorts are based on different individual characteristics of the employment and insurance biographies, on changing institutional arrangements as well as on changes in working conditions.

To analyze the impact of reforms, I conduct multivariate regression models on the basis of data provided by the German National Pension Insurance as well as data collected by the Institute of Employment Research. In the project I try to explaining the comparative disadvantages linked to region, gender, education, and employment status. Recently, the promotion of longstanding members, stresses the previous normative institutional settings and the institutional path of extending working lives.