The 30 OECD member countries have very diverse pension systems. Current old-age public pension spending varies between less than 1 and more than 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Public spending on pensions per person aged 65 or over varies from less than 15 to more than 40 per cent...

This paper surveys a dozen international comparative studies of poverty, income distribution and older people in industrialized countries using data up to the mid-1990s. It addresses a series of questions. At what level are the incomes of the elderly relative to the population as a whole? How...