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In the face of an increasing percentage of elderly in the population of Western industrial societies the idea of “productive ageing” in the sense of an involvement of the elderly in productive activities has gained importance in the last years. This involves on the one hand their longer participation in the labour market, on the other hand, it includes various other forms of participation, such as volunteering, caring for their peers or for their grandchildren and other informal productive activities.

Debatten über soziale Ungleichheit in Deutschland thematisieren häufig die Lage der Mittelschicht. Beispielsweise wird seit Jahren ein „Schrumpfen der Mittelschicht“ diagnostiziert. Auch scheint die „Angst der Mittelschicht vor dem sozialen Abstieg“ zuzunehmen. Bei genauerer Betrachtung zeigt sich, dass diese Debatte mindestens zwei Aspekte hat: Zum einen geht es um sozialen Abstieg aus gesicherten Positionen in der Mittelschicht. Zum anderen werden blockierte Aufstiegswege in die Mittelschicht für Arbeitsmarkteinsteiger thematisiert. Diese Perspektiven werden in der bisherigen Forschung meist unabhängig voneinander betrachtet. Auf der einen Seite stehen Arbeiten, die sich beispielsweise mit dem Armutsrisiko in der Haupterwerbsphase des Lebensverlaufs beschäftigen.

Older immigrants are a growing population group in many European countries, but very little is known about their financial situation. The project uses data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC, 2004-2012) to document the extent of ethnic inequality in retirement income in 16 Western European countries. A major goal is to identify institutional factors that are related to the size of the retirement income gap between immigrants and natives. The factors considered include the pension system, immigration and integration policy, welfare state transfers and labor market regulation.

As a result of the changes in employment and lifestyle patterns, care provision—including care for the elderly, care for small children, or personal support for those in difficult circumstances—is being increasingly outsourced and redistributed between men and women. Nursing home and mobile care services are increasingly replacing informal support provided by relatives; meanwhile, young children are no longer exclusively cared for by their mothers, but also by crèches and increasingly by fathers.