ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the evidence available on the pension disadvantage of women in member countries of the EU. It shows that there are also "health warnings" arising from recent changes in the pension policy in some of the European countries, mainly because some pension reforms may be more detrimental to women than men. The chapter identifies good pension policy practices in which pension policy parameters have been changed to accommodate women's atypical employment and to give "fair" pension credits for their contribution to the society in bearing and caring for children. It also shows that the poverty risk for older women is clearly higher in EU15 (23%) than in the new Member States (18%). The chapter explains the fact that one of the most suitable and effective policy action to tackle poverty risks amongst older women is through the labour market policies, in the form of the Active Labour Market Policies for Women.
