Between the market and the state: companies, occupational pensions and regulatory welfare in Britain and Germany: extended abstract

The social expectations placed on employers in welfare states have been increasing. In a range of policy areas companies have been expected to do more (see Martin 2004 on unemployment; Fleckenstein/Seelib Kaiser 2008 on family policy). This has been particularly the case in pensions, where many governments have looked to the occupational arena as a means of filling the gaps left by the retrenchment of state provision. Employers have come to be regarded as a vital component of a more ‘sustainable ’ welfare state, one in which the responsibilities and risks of welfare provision are shared to a greater extent than for most of the post-war period between state and non-state actors (companies, individuals and the third sector). Thus, in countries where the role of non-state providers was already large, such as Britain, employers have been asked to increase their role; in countries where non-state provision was informal or less extensive, such as Germany, they have been encouraged to take on a larger, more formal role often through the use of fiscal incentives and subsidies. In Britain, this policy has run into problems: rather than increasing thei