Book cover: Problem Altersarmut?The dissertation of Magnus Brosig (accepted in December 2013) has now been published as part of the ZeS book series on August 14th.
While to date, social science research concerned with 'new old-age poverty' has focused on problems and possible solutions, this study extends that strand of research by analysing the pertinent ideas of parties and associations, illustrating basic values, corresponding problems and output preferences, and finally deriving 'corridors of reform' in the field of pension policy.
All in all, it finds that a pronounced institutional conservatism makes reforms catering to the needs of people with discontinuous careers very much unlikely. In fact, a large majority of actors shows no interest in unconditional prevention of old-age poverty, but rather seeks to improve the situation of those considered to be 'guiltless victims' of previous pension cuts. Therefore, the political debate on poverty in old age does not fundamentally centre on problems faced by individuals, but on the 'collective' issue of legitimacy of the compulsory pension system which is commonly expected to continue to reward substantial social security contributions with adequate benefits and thus to remain clearly different from the social assistance scheme.
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Dr. Magnus Brosig
