ABSTRACT

The ageing process begins at the moment of birth and ends at death. Income-based analyses of older people's economic well-being, while important, capture a partial picture of older people's welfare during old age. The comparative aspect of income experience of older people brings in the crucial analytical question: how do different old-age social security systems mitigate the income risks associated with various lifecourse transitions that older people experience. Finally, the chapter presents an overview of this book. The book discusses conceptual approaches to wellbeing, and focuses on the concept of economic well-being, and reinforced by health as an additional dimension. It provides a description of the British social insurance and social assistance system. The book provides results on how patterns and triggers of income mobility differ across Great Britain and the Netherlands.