Over the last decade pension reform in the West has focused upon the need for more private provision in order to combat the effects of societal ageing. The consequences of these reforms for citizens' incomes during retirement are currently under-explored - including questions such as how protective public-private pension systems are, particularly for citizens without lifelong, full-time employment biographies. This rigorous study sheds light on these issues. It assesses the extent to which six European multi-pillar pension regimes are socially inclusive, by micro-simulating retirement income for hypothetical citizens facing typical post-industrial risks. This timely book suggests that non-state provision has significant limitations, yet also identifies the political and institutional conditions under which private pensions are indeed reconcilable with social inclusion. Private Pensions versus Social Inclusion? will appeal to policymakers, scholars and experts from NGOs and other statistical organisations involved in comparative social policy and pension analysis. Post-graduate students of comparative social policy, gerontology, public economics and economic sociology will also find much to engage them within the book.

UEber die Grenzen des Sozialversicherungsstaates wird nicht erst seit der Zunahme der sozialen und finanziellen Belastungen, die mit der deutschen Einheit verbunden sind, diskutiert. Der demographische Wandel gibt Anlass zu weitreichenden Spekulationen uber die Zukunft der Rentenversicherung, die Gesundheitsreform und die Einfuhrung der Pflegeversicherung verunsichern den historischen Kompromiss zwischen Arbeitgeber- und Arbeitnehmerbeitragen. Schliesslich stellt die steigende Armut und Sozialhilfeabhangigkeit die Verteilungswirkung des Sozialversicherungssystems in Frage. Die Autoren analysieren die Leistungsfahigkeit der Sozialversicherungssysteme und skizzieren Entwicklungsmoeglichkeiten des modernen Sozialstaats.