Who Gets to Age Well? An Analysis of the Public Pension System and Socio-Economic Inequalities Among Older Adults in Belgium

The scope of debates surrounding social security systems has progressively expanded. While financial sustainability has long dominated policy discussions, concerns related to inequality and benefit adequacy have become increasingly salient. This shift reflects a broader context of heightened awareness of social inequalities and profound demographic changes, which have in turn driven successive pension reforms with non-negligible distributive consequences. In this setting, older individuals constitute a particularly vulnerable group, as they rely heavily on transfers from public social security systems and are therefore directly affected by institutional design choices.
Public pension systems make use of a set of mechanisms such as minimum pension thresholds, survivor’s pension, and pension credits for career interruptions, to secure income in old age. Such measures also help to cushion disparities arising from unequal life-course trajectories, which allows pension systems to serve not only as sources of retirement income but also as instruments for enhancing social equality in old age.
This dissertation examines the Belgian public pension system from an inequality perspective, aiming to better understand how its design shapes social inequalities in old age. With its numerous redistributive mechanisms and several reforms in the social security system, Belgium offers a compelling case study for examining how specific components of the pension system contribute to redistribution. More specifically, this dissertation analyzes the current pension system alongside past and potential future reforms, while also addressing health inequalities among older adults and the growing use of disability insurance as a pathway out of the labor market.