Changing Occupational Welfare in Europe

Historically occupational welfare has played an important role in many European countries. However, during the ‘golden welfare state era’ the importance of occupational social protection declined in countries like France and Germany, as statutory social insurance expanded, whilst in Britain occupational welfare continued to play an important role, especially in relation to insuring against the risk of old age. Since the early 2000s the developments seem to have reversed, i.e. we are witnesses of an increasing emphasis on (private and) occupational welfare in France and, even more so, in Germany, whereas in Britain there is strong support among all parties to expand state provision. In this paper we will discuss some of the distributional consequences as well as trace the socio-economic and political drivers of these seemingly contradictory developments.