Gender gap in pensions in eu

Scientists agree that retired women are in worse financial situation than retired men. International comparative studies have shown that the poverty rate is higher among older women, especially among those living alone. Gender and age remain the main factors in determining the rate of poverty risk. However, there is a lack of studies and literature on gender issues in pensions and pension system reforms. It should be noted that policy decision makers do not pay enough attention to gender issues while making decisions on pensions or reforming pension systems. This work raises the question of what determines the gender gap in pensions in EU, i.e. why is the gap much bigger in some countries than in others? This work analyses the nine hypotheses: 1) larger gender pay gap determines larger gender gap in pensions; 2) the higher the rate of women employment, the smaller the gender gap in pensions; 3) higher rate of women working part-time determines gender gap increase in pensions; 4) higher level of women education determines the smaller gender gap in pensions; 5) higher rate of marriages leads to larger gender gap in pensions; 6) higher rate of single mothers leads to larger gender gaps in pensions; 7) the strong state pension system influences smaller gender gap in pensions; 8) higher womens‘ retirement age determines smaller gender gap in pensions; 9) care credits system has a positive effect on reducing gender gap in pensions. The regression analysis confirmed the four hypotheses, i.e., gender pay gap is an important factor in determining gender gap in pensions but higher gender pay gap does not always lead to bigger gender gap in penions, higher rate of women working part-time has a negative effect on gender gap in pensions, the strong state pension system influences smaller gender gap in pensions and care credit system positiveley effects the gender gap decrease. The case study of Estonia, Netherlands and Denamrk has confirmed these main factors determining gender gap in pensions. It can be stated that a higher rate of state pension can decrease gender gap in pensions. Women tend to participate less in labour market due to resposobilities in families, therefore they make smaller contributions to pension insurance, are less active in private pension schemes and rely on state pensions. Furthermore, Netherlands distinguishes for the very high level of women working part-time. For this reason the main factor determining one of the biggest gender gap in pensions in Netherlands in comparison to other EU countries is high level of women working part-time