Material Deprivation of Older Persons in Europe: a Multi-level Analysis of the Role of Social Protection Programmes

Abstract

The focus of this article is on the role of welfare state arrangements on the material deprivation of older persons: we ask to what extent the social protection programmes mitigate the risk of material deprivation in old age. We use cross-sectional data from Wave 5 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and the Material Deprivation Index to assess the associations between the material deprivation of older persons and a set of macro indicators which characterise the social protection programmes relevant for older persons. The findings show that higher old age and disability pensions, and greater expenditures for healthcare, housing and social exclusion are associated with lower risk of material deprivation of older persons. The study contributes to the still limited literature on the effects of institutional macro drivers, such as social protection expenditures, on the material deprivation of older persons in a cross-national perspective.