This book provides a much-needed introductory guide to the issues
surrounding pension policy, not just in the UK but worldwide, and offers
a critique of some of the dominant ideas and assumptions. Noting the
intense debate that currently surrounds the subject, the book explores a
wider view of the continuing issues about pension policy. It draws
attention to an ideological 'fault-line' running through pensions
policy, between a dominant view of pensions as deferred earnings on the
one hand and a view of them as providers of an adequate income to enable
elderly people to participate fully in society on the other. It argues
for more attention to that second perspective, as an aspect of the
search for a satisfactory work/ life balance. Critical of the many
'quick fix' approaches to the topic, the author attacks 'the demographic
time bomb thesis' for its crude assumptions about the future burden of
the old and exposes naïve assumptions about what can be achieved by
pension funding. This book offers an excellent analysis for the general
reader and provides an authoritative supplementary text for courses in
social policy. Policy and Politics in the Twenty-First Century This
exciting series offers a guide through some of today's most hotly
contested policy issues by distinguished leaders in the field. Each book
untangles current policy debates, looking behind the rhetoric and spin
to discover what is at the core of contemporary political agendas.
Authors present their own perspectives and make recommendations for what
could - or should - be our priorities for future policy reform.
