The Privatization of Retirement Income? Variation and Trends in the Income Packages of Old Age Pensioners

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate the changing balance between public and private components in the income packages of old age pensioners in a selection of nine OECD countries. Four waves of data from the Luxembourg Income Study databank are used to analyse variation across countries and across time in the public/private mix of retirement income. The article seeks to address two main questions: (a) Is there a general trend towards a stronger reliance on private income provision and, perhaps, a trend towards convergence in the balance between public and private income components? (b) Is there evidence of a tendency for substitution/crowding out between public and private income components, and hence a tendency for crossnational convergence in the relative income position enjoyed by old age pensioners – despite variation in the generosity of national pension systems?