ABSTRACT
Trends in average income levels do not necessarily inform about poverty rates – in the following defined as the risk of falling short of 50% of the median disposable income of the entire population. In countries where public pension systems are mainly earnings-related, as in the case of Germany in the country sample, the line for public transfers follows closely the line for disposable incomes of persons of working age. Countries with above-average relative incomes of older people include a number of continental European countries with 'Bismarckian' social policy history as well as Japan and the United States. Evidence on the distributive patterns of public and private income sources underscores the extent to which resources of older people continue to be highly differentiated across the income ladder. Income poverty among the older generation is rising again in many countries, reversing the trend of many years. Private pensions and capital income contribute to inequality among senior citizens.
