Collective agreements on pensions as a source of solidarity

Abstract

Within the literature of welfare state retrenchment, the “solidarity-decline thesis” is discussed. It is argued that the privatisation of pension schemes leads to a decrease of solidarity. On the basis of an empirical analysis of collective agreements on pension in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and France, this article discusses this thesis. It reviews concepts of solidarity used in the literature and develops a two-dimensional scheme of four different concepts. It is argued that pensions based on industrial agreements may compensate to a certain degree for solidarity losses caused by retrenchment policies.