Four Towards a social democratic pension system? Assessing the significance of the 2007 and 2008 Pensions Acts1
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Paul Bridgen
Abstract
This chapter considers Labour’s difficulties in dealing with what has become an important but rather intractable problem — that of pensions. It discusses the problems that Labour inherited in this area in 1997, with increased poverty rates resulting from low state provision of pensions, women disproportionately represented among the older poor and much of the growth in inequality indexes coming from the growth in occupational pensions. It considers whether pensions reforms have made the subsequent system more social democratic. It considers entitlement, the public/private mix and benefit levels before coming to the conclusion that the 2007 and 2008 reforms represent a new direction for policy, but notes the lack of clarity as to whether these reforms will develop should there be a change of government. It questions whether employer opposition to some of Labour’s ideas might represent a significant test of the social policy credentials of David Cameron’s Conservative Party.
Abstract
This chapter considers Labour’s difficulties in dealing with what has become an important but rather intractable problem — that of pensions. It discusses the problems that Labour inherited in this area in 1997, with increased poverty rates resulting from low state provision of pensions, women disproportionately represented among the older poor and much of the growth in inequality indexes coming from the growth in occupational pensions. It considers whether pensions reforms have made the subsequent system more social democratic. It considers entitlement, the public/private mix and benefit levels before coming to the conclusion that the 2007 and 2008 reforms represent a new direction for policy, but notes the lack of clarity as to whether these reforms will develop should there be a change of government. It questions whether employer opposition to some of Labour’s ideas might represent a significant test of the social policy credentials of David Cameron’s Conservative Party.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- List on contributors vii
- Introduction 1
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Current developments
- Education policy and policy making, 1997–2009 13
- Children’s social care under New Labour 31
- Health policy under New Labour: not what it seems? 51
- Towards a social democratic pension system? Assessing the significance of the 2007 and 2008 Pensions Acts1 71
- Minimum income standards and household budgets 97
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Current issues and debates
- Re-connecting with ‘what unemployment means’: employability, the experience of unemployment and priorities for policy in an era of crisis 121
- Facing the ‘dark side’ of deregulation? The politics of two-tier labour markets in Germany and Japan after the global financial crisis 149
- ‘Flexibility’, xenophobia and exploitation: modern slavery in the UK 173
- Mi Familia Progresa: change and continuity in Guatemala’s social policy 199
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Service user involvement
- Service users and social policy: developing different discussions, challenging dominant discourses 227
- Participation and social justice 253
- Involving disabled children and young people in research and consultations: issues, challenges and opportunities 275
- Responding to unhappy childhoods in the UK: enhancing young people’s ‘well-being’ through participatory action research 291
- Service users as peer research interviewers: why bother? 317
- Index 337
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Contents iii
- List of tables and figures v
- List on contributors vii
- Introduction 1
-
Current developments
- Education policy and policy making, 1997–2009 13
- Children’s social care under New Labour 31
- Health policy under New Labour: not what it seems? 51
- Towards a social democratic pension system? Assessing the significance of the 2007 and 2008 Pensions Acts1 71
- Minimum income standards and household budgets 97
-
Current issues and debates
- Re-connecting with ‘what unemployment means’: employability, the experience of unemployment and priorities for policy in an era of crisis 121
- Facing the ‘dark side’ of deregulation? The politics of two-tier labour markets in Germany and Japan after the global financial crisis 149
- ‘Flexibility’, xenophobia and exploitation: modern slavery in the UK 173
- Mi Familia Progresa: change and continuity in Guatemala’s social policy 199
-
Service user involvement
- Service users and social policy: developing different discussions, challenging dominant discourses 227
- Participation and social justice 253
- Involving disabled children and young people in research and consultations: issues, challenges and opportunities 275
- Responding to unhappy childhoods in the UK: enhancing young people’s ‘well-being’ through participatory action research 291
- Service users as peer research interviewers: why bother? 317
- Index 337
