Migrants in the European Union: Welfare in Old Age

Abstract

The first generation of post-World War Two (WWII) migrants to Western Europe have joined the ranks of the European elderly. Typically, they have accumulated limited assets because of lower paid employment and earned limited rights within public pension schemes that in most European countries relate pensions to years of residence or contribution. in some respect they share the problems of those of the European-born population, mainly women, who started work late, have interrupted work histories, or have low life-time earnings. This paper argues that changing the rules for those sections of the European Union (EU) population who are reliant on public pensions will help to reduce the risk of poverty in old age among some of the most underprivileged sections of the EU elderly population. Among these policies are: delinking length of residency from pension rights or giving credit for the years that a person lived outside the country, financial support to those who are short of contribution years, allowing people to take their pension abroad without a penalty, and improving the rights and entitlement of the surviving spouse (usually women).