Source: The Labour and Welfare Directorate

9.There are a number of factors that affect the proportion of old-age pensioners receiving the minimum pension, including women’s labour participation, features of the pension system, and the minimum pension level. Additionally, the new public pension system in Norway that entered into force from 2011 allows for flexible withdrawal of old-age pension, which makes assessments of the impacts on the percentage of men and women receiving minimum pension more complex. The Pension reform will continue to have economic effects in decades to come.

10.Firstly, the proportion of old-age pensioners receiving minimum pension must be assessed in the context of the minimum pension level in Norway being high compared to many other countries. There has been a number of increases in the minimum level in recent years that have contributed to higher pensions for pensioners with low income. However, higher minimum benefit levels will increase the number of persons receiving minimum pension. Despite this fact, the proportion of both male and female old-age pensioners receiving the minimum pension has clearly decreased over time, and the decline has been stronger for women than for men.

11.Secondly, those who receive old-age pension in Norway today are born in 1957 or earlier, as no one in younger cohorts have reached the age of 62. Since labour participation among younger cohorts is considerably higher than the historical average over the lifecycle, one can expect a further decline in the proportion of women receiving the minimum pension, as new cohorts of women become pensioners. This is also expected to contribute to equalization between the proportion of female and male old-age pensioners receiving minimum pension.

12.The new public pension system is phased in gradually. Persons born in the years 1954–1962 will receive old-age pension partly calculated according to both new and old earning provisions, whilst persons born in 1963 or later will have their entire pension calculated according to the new earning provisions. There are a number of components in the new pension system, including a ceiling on pensionable income, accumulation of pension rights for unpaid care and a gender neutral annuity divisor, that contribute to more equal pension outcomes, despite unequal work income. These components play a more important role for women than for men, and help close the gender gap in pension outcome.

13.The Pension Reform introduced the possibility of flexible drawing of old-age pension. For a pensioner to be eligible for an old-age pension before the age of 67, the pensioner’s potential pension must at least equal the minimum pension level at 67. The minimum guaranteed pension level is independent of previous income, but the guaranteed pension is reduced by 80 per cent of the earned income-based pension. As the guaranteed pension is reduced only by 80 percent of the income-based pension, and as flexible withdrawal of both the income-based pension and the guaranteed pension is allowed, extensive use of the opportunity to early withdrawal of pension will contribute to higher proportions of receivers of the minimum pension level at 67. It remains to be seen how this will affect the proportions of female and male old-age pensioners receiving minimum pension in the future.

14.Finally, it is important to note that a main goal of the Pension Reform was to strengthen the incentives to work for both men and women. The evaluation of the Pension Reform in Norway that was carried out in the period 2011–2018 shows that the reform has been successful in increasing incentives to work and improving labour force participation among the elderly after 2011. An article from Statistics Norway (No. 855, January 2017) finds that the reformed Norwegian pension system performs comparatively well in terms of closing the gender gap, but it does so partly due to benefit components that weaken the incentives for women to work and reward couples who chose an unbalanced sharing of informal and formal work.

15.The Norwegian pension system should be evaluated not only on the basis of to what extent it delivers equal pension outcomes, but also on the basis of to what extent it contributes to equal sharing of labour market participation and unpaid care. A pension system cannot and should not compensate for all differences in labour market participation between men and women. However, due to the relatively high labour force participation rate for women in Norway, women are to a larger extent financially independent than in many other countries.

Follow-up information relating to paragraph 49 (a) of the concluding observations

16.Norway has duly considered recommendation no. 49 a from the Committee. Our aim is, in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 29 (2013), that the economic advantages and disadvantages related to the relationship and its dissolution should be borne equally by both spouses, if the parties have not agreed otherwise. The division of roles and functions during the spouses’ life together should not result in detrimental economic consequences for either party. In Norwegian law the value of indirect, including non-financial, contributions with regard to the acquisition of property acquired during the marriage is also recognized. However, there might still be challenges related to the effects of the current legislation. Norway will therefore consider the necessity of investigating the effects of the legislation to be able to examine the need for developing the law further. Concerning alimony, there are at present no plans to make legal amendments.

17.The Norwegian National Insurance Scheme covers all legal residents in Norway. As all residents, irrespective of gender, age or occupational activity, are members of the scheme, marital status is of less importance.

18.There are already provisions in place that ensures more equal pension outcomes, despite unequal work income. Accumulation of pension rights for unpaid care is one such provision. Further, survivors’ pension may be granted to a divorced spouse who has not remarried, provided that the death occurs within five years after the divorce and that the marriage has lasted for at least 25 years (15 years if there were children in the marriage). If the divorced survivor at the time of the death was receiving alimony from the deceased, the five-year requirement does not apply.

19.There are at present no plans to change the social security system in order to further compensate women who have stayed at home to care for the family.