Sweden Finland Austria

Partly
Additional public pension scheme
Existence
None
None
Yes
Yes
5)
Eligible groups
Employees
Employees and
self-employed
Pension dependent on 
work history and income 
Yes
Yes
1)
The age 60 is for women, 65 is for men. It will be increased to 65 for women over 10 years starting in
2010 in GB. In Austria the pension age will also be increased to 65 years for women (from 2018 to 2033).
2)
In Great Britain the basic system is for people who have been working. There are non contribution based
pensions for special groups, e.g. persons over 80 years who are not entitled to the basic pension.
3)
There is no minimum pension in Austria, but a 
safeguard' which has all the characteristics of social
assistance, including means testing.
4)
The Swedish government has decided on a new pension system to replace the existing one. 
A gradual implementation will take place from 2001.
5)
The Canadian Additional pension Scheme CPP allows flexible retirement between 60 and 70 years of
age.
will start in 2001, and of the reduced options for retiring before the formal ’pension age’
in the Netherlands and Denmark. In Austria the reductions in pensions will be increased
from 2000 in relation to early retirement. 
Some of the countries have flexible public old age pension schemes which can also be used
for early or postponed retirement. This is the case in Sweden, Finland, Austria, Germany

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and Canada. In Sweden and Finland a pension can be obtained from the age of 60 years (61
years from 1998 in Sweden) at the cost of an actuarial reduction in the pension for the rest
of the life. This is also the case in Canada, but only from the additional pension scheme.
The Austrian pension scheme can also be used for early retirement with quite modest
reductions in the pensions received. In Germany some early retirement schemes are being
replaced by a flexible pension following the same principles as the Swedish and Finnish
system. This flexible German scheme will be implemented gradually from year 2001 to
2012 and will contain a higher minimum age for receiving pension than in the replaced
early retirement schemes. In all five countries it is also possible to postpone retirement to
after the formal retirement age and then obtain an actuarial increase in the pension. In
Great Britain and the Netherlands it is not possible to receive a public pension (related to
age) before the formal retirement age, but in Great Britain it is possible to postpone the
retirement and then receive a bonus. Denmark does not have a flexible old age pension
system, but other schemes, e.g. the Efterløn scheme, established according to labour
market agreements, are dedicated for early retirement and quite popular. Great Britain and
the Netherlands have private pension schemes which can also accomodate early retirement.
Besides the flexible old age pension scheme Finland also has an unemployment pension
scheme for early retirement from unemployment. Some of the countries, e.g. Denmark,
Sweden, Finland and Austria also have special part time pension schemes with access
before the formal retirement age and where the requirements include reductions of the
number of hours worked.
All countries except Austria, Germany and Great Britain have a basic public pension
available for all citizens. In the five countries (DK, S, FIN, NL and CAN) with a basic
pension (minimum pension) for all, this is residence based and 
flat rate'. In Germany, the
public pension system is basically for employees in the private sector and specific groups
of self-employed. In Great Britain it is broader, but still basically for people with a work
and contribution record. Austria's pension scheme is also for people who have worked.
This is very different from the other countries. Furthermore, the level of pension according
to the German basic public scheme is dependent on work history and income. There is a
maximum level for that pension because both the number of years in work (50 years is, in
practice, the most) and the income factor applied in the formula for the actual calculation
of pensions have limits. The pension level in Austria also depends on former income. The
basic pension in Great Britain is 
flat rate'. There is no pension for people without a work
record in the pension schemes of Austria, Germany and Great Britain (GB has a residence
based scheme for persons over 80 years, but this is of minor importance). Pensioners
without a former work record will have to rely on social assistance or social assistance type
schemes.
The basic gross pension received depends on marital status in Denmark, Sweden, Finland,
the Netherlands and Canada, but not in Austria, Germany and Great Britain. Pensions
based upon full own contributions in GB do not differ according to marital status, but a

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pension based upon the contributions of a spouse is lower. Taxation may, however, also
have an impact. A married couple of two pensioners often receive less than twice the net
amount of a single person, but the ratio of disposable income for a couple to that of a
single pensioner varies a great deal.
Means testing of pensions is a Scandinavian and Canadian phenomenon. In Sweden and
Finland the basic pension (part of it in Sweden, all of it in Finland) is means tested only in
relation to income from the additional pension scheme. The means testing is due to the
’integration’ of the two parts of the public pension scheme. In Denmark, several income
sources can result in means testing of public basic pensions. In Canada one component of
the basic pension, that is the guaranteed income supplement, is means tested against other
income including pensions from the additional scheme, CPP. The benefits of social assis-
tance type, pensioners in Austria, Germany and Great Britain can receive, are all means
tested against any other income.
Additional pension schemes are available in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain and
Canada. The most important of these are, from the point of view of the recipient, the
Swedish and Finnish schemes. The average pension from the Swedish additional pension
scheme is now substantially larger than pensions from the basic scheme. Part of the basic
Swedish pension is means tested against income from the additional pension scheme in
such a way that the combined marginal percentage is 100, a consequence of the 
integra-
tion’. The taxation of income from the additional pension scheme in excess of the means
tested part of the basic pension is rather severe. The contribution to disposable income
from additional pensions is therefore considerably smaller than the gross level might
suggest. The Finnish additional pension system has similar characteristics, the combined
marginal percentage from means testing is, however, lower i.e. 50 per cent. From 1996 it
is the whole basic pension which is exposed to means testing in Finland. Also the Cana-
dian CPP scheme is an important component and it is integrated with the basic scheme
using a taper of 50 per cent, but only the guaranteed income supplement is means-tested.
The British and especially the Danish additional schemes consist of more modest supple-
ments to the basic pension systems.