Brussels, 18/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 18 June, the Employment and Social Policy Council adopted conclusions on “Equal income opportunities for women and men: Closing the gender gap in pensions”.
These conclusions will enable the member states to make progress towards de facto equality between women and men in terms of economic independence. Since pension issues are for the most part a matter of national competence, the member states are separately called upon to address the problem in a number of different ways.
The conclusions call on the member states and the Commission to: - 1) promote research into the causes and effects of the gender gap in pensions; - 2) develop an indicator within the framework of the social protection committee; and - 3) pursue measures to tackle the causes of the gender gap in pensions.
According to the latest Commission figures, the average gender gap in pensions in the EU is 38.5%, substantially higher than the gender pay gap (16.5 %). (Isabelle Lamberty)