GENDER, PENSIONS AND INCOME IN RETIREMENT. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 87 SEPTEMBER 2019

Nolan, Anne and Whelan, Adele and McGuinness, Seamus and Maitre, Bertrand (2019) GENDER, PENSIONS AND INCOME IN RETIREMENT. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 87 SEPTEMBER 2019. UNSPECIFIED.

PDF - Published Version Download (3182Kb)

Abstract

This report examines key dimensions of the policy debate around gender and pensions in Ireland, namely the gender pension gap, income poverty, and financial decision-making. The research summarises three studies carried out as part of a programme of research at the Economic and Social Research institute (ESRI) funded by the Pensions Council. Women may face a number of potential issues both before and during retirement that can have a cumulative impact resulting in significantly lower financial security in retirement than men. In retirement, pension income accounts for most of the income of men and women in Ireland (Central Statistics Office (CSO), 2013). A woman aged 65–79 in the EU-28 received a pension that was on average 38 per cent lower than her male counterpart in 2016; the corresponding figure for Ireland was 26 per cent (European Commission, 2018). Overall, the older population has fared better than other age groups in terms of the experience of income poverty in Ireland in recent years. However, there remains a proportion (currently just under 9 per cent) who live in income poverty (CSO, 2018), despite the fact that the level of older age state benefits should be sufficient to keep this group out of income poverty. Demographic trends mean that older women, who live longer than men, will make up a larger share of the population, and will be increasingly likely to live alone (European Commission, 2018). This means that older women will need to assume greater responsibility for their own financial security in older age. For any policy to tackle successfully gender differences in economic outcomes in older age, it is also important to understand how men and women may differ in terms of financial decision-making. Decisions about many aspects of economic life are shaped by attitudes to risk, time preferences and financial literacy skills, and there is evidence that men and women differ in some aspects of these key dimensions of decision making.

Actions (login required)