oa De onberekenbare toekomst

The unpredictable future. The changing transition from work to pension in European Welfare states

The topic of this contribution are the shifting transitions from work to retirement and the corresponding changes in existing pension regimes. Both changes are related and a consequence of the need to respond to the demographic ageing and the increasing costs of welfare states. The central question is whether these changes will result in an 'unpredictable' future. To answer this question a life course approach has been applied to analyse and interpret the changes in the early exit culture and existing pension regimes in different European Welfare States. It is concluded that we can observe a process of de-standardisation, fragmentation and individualization of life courses as a combined result of both institutional changes and individual preferences that result in an 'unpredictable' and 'insecure' future.