Declining pension adequacy may result in increased poverty concerns in many EU countries

Since the 1990s, the public pensions landscape in the EU has changed drastically, with reforms changing both the nature of provision and the level of generosity. Aaron George Grech, looking at the changes made in ten EU countries, finds that systems’ effectiveness in alleviating poverty remains strong only in those countries where minimum pensions were improved. However, moves to link benefits to contributions have raised adequacy concerns for women and for those on low incomes which policymakers should try to tackle.