Centre for Policy on Ageing



Mainstream pattern, deviant cases — the New Zealand and Danish pension systems in an international context
Author(s)	Einar Overbye
Journal title	Journal of European Social Policy, vol 7, no 2, May 1997
Pages	pp 101-117
Keywords	Pensions ; Finance ; International ; Germany ; Denmark ; New Zealand.
Annotation	Old-age pension schemes have evolved from two different starting points. Germany introduced a scheme for industrial workers only in 1889, which was financed by workers, employers and the state making separate contributions. Denmark (1891) and New Zealand (1898) were the next countries to set up separate welfare schemes for the elderly: these were tax-financed and provided only means-tested, minimum benefits, and thus reserved for those not able to contribute to their own pension. This article identifies the starting points of other European and Anglo-American industrialised countries, with reference to the contributions versus assistance dichotomy. It investigates if later developments suggest a common trend towards mixed assistance and contributions pension systems, and attempts to identify mechanisms which explain such a trend.
Accession Number	CPA-980120202 A
Classmark	JJ: WN: 72: 767: 76K: 7YN
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.