Soziale Sicherung: Herausforderungen an der Jahrhundertwende

Three important developments will influence social policy in Germany during the coming century: population aging, a growing mobility and diversity of life and earnings histories, and an increasing awareness of economic incentives even in social policy. We claim that these challenges can only be mastered through a multi-pillar social security system, in particular for to old-age provision and health care. Multi-pillar systems are a necessity simply for pragmatic reasons because demographic changes threaten to undermine the current monolithic public social security systems. The possibility to choose between different ranges and forms of benefits will result in more flexibility. This in turn will enable an older, more mobile and more incentive-oriented population to adjust more easily to changes in the micro- and macroeconomic environment during the coming century.