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Escaping Financial Dependency in Old Age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Robert Walker  and
Meg Huby
Robert Walker
Affiliation:
Assistant Director, Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, University of York, Heslington, York, England.
Meg Huby
Affiliation:
Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD, England.
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Abstract

One of the principal motives behind pension reform in Britain in the post-war era has been to reduce dependence on means-tested assistance. Alternating attempts have been made to attain this objective through State and occupational collectivism but with only partial success. The present Government has shifted the emphasis away from collective provision towards individual saving promoted in the form of portable pensions. However, recent research has underlined the importance of structural determinants of dependency on means-tested assistance in retirement and of other factors over which individuals have little if any control. In the light of these findings questions are raised about the potential effectiveness of portable and occupational pensions as mechanisms for reducing future dependency on means-tested supplementation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , March 1989 , pp. 17 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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NOTES

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