Gender inequalities in old age: pension gaps from an intra ... · The inequalities by gender in old...
Transcript of Gender inequalities in old age: pension gaps from an intra ... · The inequalities by gender in old...
Gender inequalities in old age:
pension gaps from an intra-household
perspective
Cristina Freguja
Silvano Vitaletti
(Istat - National Institute of Statistics)
Vilnius, 2 June 2016
Work Session on Gender Statistics
CONTENTS
Background
Statistical characterization of the pensioners in Italy
Contribution of the pension to the household income
Degree of economic dependence from the others
members of the households
Background
Pensions are a key determinant of the economic
independence of their beneficiaries.
The gender gap in pensions represents the sum of gender
inequalities in the life course and labor market, driven by
gendered social norms and stereotypes.
Important gender differences in the labor market and with
regard to the job remuneration are still observed in the
younger generation.
The effects of the gender gap in pension need to be
analyzed also using intra-household indicators.
PENSIONS: GENDER GAP IN EU
Gender Gap in Pensions1 and Gender Gap in Coverage by the
pension system source
Source: European Commission, The gender gap in pensions in the EU, 2013
1 - The Gender gap in pensions is the percentage by which women’s
average pension is lower than men’s.
Statistical characterization of the Italian pensioners 1/1
Effect of the demographic structure:
Women represent the majority of pensioners→ 52.9%;
the average age of women who receive a pension is higher
than that of male in the same situation → 71.8 versus 68.6
years
Effect of lower participation and permanence of
women in the labor market:
dependency ratio, i.e. the number of pensioners compared to
the number of the employed population is 93.4 for women,
and 59.8 for men
Statistical characterization of the Italian pensioners 2/2
Women receive, on average, a monthly amount of income from
pension significantly lower than that of men (1.095 versus
1.549 euros - 2014)
The retirement income difference is 41.4% and rises to 52.2%
among new retirees and to 62.2% considering the amount of the
single pension benefit
The difference decreases during the retirement period since, with a
longer life expectancy, women accumulate more frequently also
survivors' pensions.
In last decade, there was a reduction of the differences thanks to the
cohorts of women with longer and regular working careers than in
the past (in 2004 the pension gap was 44,9%)
Contribution of the pension to the household income 1/2
The contribution of pension to household income varies depending on
the type of household in which people live in the last phase of life.
Retirement age, life expectancy, age of partners determine a different
distribution of male and female pensioners in different type of
households.
The female pensioners (after retirement from employment) live
alone (36%)
in couple without children (35%)
in couple with children (12%)
single mother (7%)
with aggregate members (10% - 7% of them is the aggregate member).
Among male pensioners, the share of those living alone is reduced to less
than half (16,8), while it is much larger (51%) that of those living in couples
without children and about double (24%) in couples with children.
9% of males live with aggregate members (3% of them is the ag. member)
Contribution of the pension to the household income 2/2
The contribution of female pensions to the household incomes decreases with the
increasing of the level of the household income
Income quintiles (*) Women Men
1 79 79
2 66 73
3 56 67
4 50 58
5 39 48
In average, the female pension (65+) accounts for….
92% of the total household income where she lives alone (90% for men living in a
same type of living arrangement)
50% for single mothers
36% for women in couples without children (66% for men)
26% for women in couples with children (44% for men)
33% for women living in households with aggregate members (42% for men)
the contribution of men,
with the exception of the
first quintile, is always
higher
The female pension emerges as an important source of
income especially for the most vulnerable families
Gender pay gap and Gender pension gap affect the degree of
economic dependence of women and men from the other
members of the household
The economic dependence can penalize individuals in terms of
bargaining power within the couple and with other members, and can
make easier discriminatory behaviors
A simple method allows to assign to each member of the household
the income made available by others in the household (indirect
income), distinguishing it from the earned income (direct income).
It allows to analyse the degree of economic dependence, by relating
it to the different patterns of living arrangements.
Indirect income can be decomposed by type (from work, pension, etc.),
making possible to analyse the sources of livelihood, direct or
indirect.
Degree of economic dependence from the household 1/3
The method assumes that….
each earner in the household contributes to a single deposit of
income available to the whole family and this amount is divided equally
among all the components (income pooling).
Under this hypothesis….
each household member meets the common expenses (for his/her
own part) and the personal expenses necessary to ensure the same
standard of living of the rest of the family.
the surplus income is saved in a single fund at the disposal of the
whole household.
This hypothesis is consistent with the practice of using the “equivalent
income" for the analysis of inequality among people living in households
with different number of members and different composition.
Nevertheless, in some populations or social groups it may have a limited
degree of acceptability according to the spread of gender discriminatory
practices within families.
Degree of economic dependence from the household 2/3
Intra-household income redistribution
Per capita household income as personal income after intra-household redistribution n household members, m income sources (excluding common household income sources)
n
i
m
j
jii Yn
Y1 1
,
1
It can be decomposed into:
• direct personal income: the minimum
between earned income and per capita
income
• indirect personal income: the difference
between per capita income and earned
income, if positive, 0 elsewhere
m
j
m
j
dep
ji
dir
ji
dep
i
dir
ii YYYYY1 1
,,
Decomposition of direct and indirect incomes into m
different sources is achieved by re-proportioning the
different amounts at household level
m
j
iji
dir
i YYY1
, ;min
m
j
jii
dep
i YYY1
,;0max
m
j
m
j
Gi
i
Gi
dep
ji
Gi
i
Gi
dir
ji
Gi
i
Gi
dep
i
Gi
i
Gi
dir
i
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
1 1
,,
1
Degree of intra-household
economic dependence for
individuals belonging to G
group
Degree of intra-household
economic dependence
Country
All
pensioners
55 and over
Pensioners 55
and over living
in couple IT Male 3,6 4,2
Female 17,0 32,4 ES Male 3,0 3,2
Female 13,6 25,7
FR Male 3,0 4,1 Female
13,7 26,6 DK Male 4,3 6,9
Female 9,3 20,3 UK Male 5,1 6,1
Female 22,6 37,8
The economic dependence of
female pensioners is more severe
than for male pensioners and it is
greater for women living in couple
Source: own estimation from
EU-SILC, 2013
The rights of women on social insurance are often ‘derived rights’
(survivors’ pensions)
Source: own estimation
from EU-SILC, 2013
At the same age, male and female
pensioners living without a partner have an
higher risk to be poor. For women the risk is
higher than for men
Source: own estimation from EU-SILC, 2013
A higher level of education does not always guarantee a lower
economic dependency for female pensioners (aged 55+).
Source: own estimation
from EU-SILC, 2013
In conclusion…
• Differences in pension contribute to determine gender differences between the
sexes in later life as regards capacity of an individual to lead an independent
life and to take decisions for him/herself.
• the indicators proposed by the most advanced literature in the domain (Bettio et
al. 2013; Tinios et al. 2015; Betti et al. 2015) allow to define the framework of
gender imbalance in old age, considering
the extent to which individuals have access to the pension system
(coverage gap)
the difference in pensions (excluding or including non-pensioners: pension gap
and elderly pension gap)
the intra-household difference between ‘his’ and ‘her’ pension (Intra-household
gender gap in pension)
The indicator proposed in this presentation - the degree of intra-household economic
dependence - is a further proxy measure of capacity for individual choice.
It breaks down personal income and indirect income by highlighting the sources of
livelihood. The inequalities by gender in old age are observed from a further and larger
visual angle.
References
• Betti, G., Bettio, F., Georgiadis, T. and Tinios, P. (2015). Unequal Ageing in Europe:
Women’s Independence and Pensions, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Bettio, F., Tinios, P., and Betti, G. (2013). The Gender Gap in Pensions in the EU.
Report prepared for the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice; Unit
D2 “Equality between Men and Women”. Available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/tools/experts/index_en.htm
• Tinios, P., Bettio, F. , and Betti, G. (2015). Men women and pensions. Report
prepared for the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice; Unit D2
“Equality between Men and Women”. Available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-quality/files/documents/150618_men_women_pensions_en.pdf
Thanks for your attention!