Natali, D., Janta, B., Spasova, S., Bannister Curran, L., Fassino, G., Copping, D., McCarthy, J., Kominou, K., O’Brien, Galligani, I., Webb, S., J., Hussain, N. (2024) Study supporting the monitoring of care credits in occupational pension schemes. Final report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.

Pension credits for care periods are a key policy lever to protect the pension rights of carers and support gender equality in pensions. They are designed to compensate for a break in ‘working time’so that there are no significant gaps in pension entitlements. Pension care credit policies support pension adequacy and gender equality as caring responsibilities for both children and elderly persons are often undertaken by women. The study examined the protection of savers’ pension rights in supplementary occupational pension schemes (SOPS) during career breaks linked to care. The project has focused on four key features of care credits in statutory and occupational schemes: types of care provision; access and eligibility conditions; funding arrangements; and coverage (national and sectoral-level estimations).