The economic crisis has given rise to significant challenges to the welfare state. Given that welfare expenses account for a large proportion of all state spending in the member countries of the European Union, reducing government spending means cutting welfare measures. Yet social protection,...

To what extent a pension system can be judged fair given structural differences in life expectancy across socioeconomic groups is not straightforward and will depend on the exact design of the system and other social policies in place, and how these policies interact with the pension system.