The young and the elderly are among the most vulnerable groups in contemporary societies, especially in times of economic slowdown. The current retrenchment of the welfare states is buffering the growing demographic and economic pressures in European countries at the expense of the young and the elderly, and particular subgroups with intersecting high-risk characteristics. However, both investing in the young, who determine a society's future, and providing public support for the elderly, the most deserving needy group, are seen as musts. How well young people fare in their early stage of life is related to their success in the labour market and later well-being, which in turn impacts the sustainability of the welfare state. Challenges for the welfare state are as well that the elderly are being pushed and pulled too early into (pre-)retirement schemes and that many of them find themselves in precarious situations despite their pension income.

This book reflects on when and why the young and the elderly are at risk in European welfare states, as well as whether and how specific welfare policies respond to their needs. It also identifies particularly vulnerable groups who cumulate being young or old with other risk characteristics, such as being a woman or having a migration background, and investigates how these disadvantages could be tackled.

The reader is presented with selective studies addressing policies and institutional settings, as well as individual outcomes and attitudes towards governmental responsibilities. Focusing on the young in its first part, this book reveals the contribution of ethnic and social capital to educational outcomes, and the role of national and European policies in the transition from school to work, the duration of unemployment and the minimum income dependency of Europe's youth. The second part of the book focuses on the elderly and discusses intersections with gender and ethnicity in old-age poverty, pension outcomes of mobile (cross-border) workers, the impact of the recent social security reforms and the possible outcomes of including financial assets and housing wealth in oldage income protection. The final chapters address the potential erosion of the solidarity of and towards the young and the elderly, as a challenge for the European welfare states.