Like Japan, the Netherlands has an aging population. As a consequence, the affordability of old-age pensions is under pressure. The labour market is also changing, with people more often changing jobs or choosing to become self-employed. Both trends raise the question of whether the pension system in its current form still meets the needs of working people today and in the future. The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment asked the Netherlands Institute for Social Research scp to...

Research into minimum income standards and reference budgets around the world is compared in this illuminating collection from leading academics in the field.From countries with long established research traditions to places where it is relatively new, contributors set out the different aims and objectives of investigations into the minimum needs and requirements of populations, and the historical contexts, theoretical frameworks and methodological issues that lie behind each appro...