Securing Pension Provision: The Challenge of Reforming the Age of Entitlement [Hardcover]

By comparing Germany, France, the UK and the USA this study explores how governments have tackled the increased pressure of financing state pensions. Specifically, it looks at the approach of each of these countries to raising the age of entitlement in order to understand the ways in which this policy was introduced in different countries.Introduction PART I: THE WORLD OF ANALYSIS: PENSION SYSTEMS AND THEIR REFORMS IN OECD COUNTRIES 1. Ordering Chaos 2. Changing Ages 3. Beyond Convergence and Divergence: Choosing the Cases PART II: ANALYSING PENSIONABLE AGE CHANGES IN FOUR COUNTRIES 4. Early Birds and Laggards? A Comparison of the USA and France 5. Similar, Yet Different? A comparison of Germany and the United Kingdom PART III: BRINGING THE STORIES TOGETHER 6. Acting and Reacting: The Public-Private Interplay in Pensionable Age Reforms 7. Acquiring the Ability to Reform 8. Reconciling the Approaches Conclusion

Catherine Blair has held a variety of roles in pension and employment policy in the British civil service, and has also worked for a number of years at the European Commission. She was educated at the University of Oxford and the College of Europe in Bruges before completing her Doctorate at the University of Bremen.