ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the changed meaning of old age, centrally shaped by the development of pension systems. It deals with the different functions and designs of pension systems, with a focus on developed welfare states. The chapter also discusses the outcomes of pension policy, in particular the economic situation of the elderly. It also deals with reforms of pension systems and the problems for present or future retirees that may arise from the adjustments. The expansion of pension systems in developed welfare states up until about the 1980s has substantially improved the income situation of the elderly population. Population aging poses the most important challenge for all developed welfare. Increasing old age support ratios create problems of financial sustainability and generational equity as more elderly will have to be supported by fewer people of working age. The chapter reviews the impact of the global crisis of financial markets in 2008 and its aftermath upon present and future pensioners.
