ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on several of the complications that arise with the use of micro household datasets. It shows that 'supplementary pension' is used to viewed as complementary to the public social security retirement programmes. The chapter reviews the evidence on whether the mix of different income sources has changed over time, seen both from an institutional approach which considers pension reforms and the policies that underpin them, and from the perspective of aged households. It also shows that the arguments advanced to support the view that a change in income sources is believed conceptually to have an impact on the level of poverty and inequality and presents some empirical evidence as to their validity. The chapter considers how different country mixes impact on poverty alleviation and income distribution for aged households. The public/private mix undoubtedly has effects on the economic well-being of the aged, including poverty and income inequality, but these are difficult to pin down empirically.
