The Pension Mix for Women in Middle and Late Life: More Evidence of the Changing Employment Relationship

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Janice I. Farkas Wassel, Director (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: The effects of life-course, employment and labor market characteristics on the probability of pension participation and on type of pension coverage are estimated for two cohorts of working women in middle and late life, respectively. The National Longitudinal Surveys of Mature and Young Women are used to differentiate the relative importance of life course and diverse structural factors on worker pension participation and employer coverage patterns. The defined contribution plan is argued to be an indicator of the changing employment relationship which is relieving employers of pension liability and increasing workers' responsibilities for retirement saving. Probit regressions are used to estimate the relative risks for nonparticipation in any pension among these working women. Multinominal logistic models, controlling for selectivity, estimate cohort processes in workers' access to employer-provided pension types. The results reveal the relative importance for middle-aged and older women of life course and structural variables that reflect life stage and changing employment relationships. Younger cohorts appear to be relatively more vulnerable to the changing employment contract given their greater dependence on defined contribution plans and the conflict between family and market contingencies.

Additional Information

Publication
Social Forces. 76(3):1007-32
Language: English
Date: 1998
Keywords
pensions, women, retirement, employment

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