This book examines the legal relationship between work and retirement. In Europe, member states face several challenges regarding their pension system, such as sustainability, adequacy and fairness. Although pension policies across Europe generally aim to increase labour force participation among older age groups in order to counteract the well-known effects of demographic ageing, national policy measures and legislative approaches adopted to achieve this objective can differ widely from one country to another.

Furthermore, countries are faced with labour market developments. Labour shortages, for instance, lead to different policy choices and legislative approaches than those seen in times of high unemployment. As countries are often searching for a balance between active participation on the labour market and leaving the labour market at a certain age, labour market challenges can also be reflected in pension law. 

In analyzing the interaction between pension law and the labour market, the book is based on a collaborative approach. It combines eight country reports and explores and reflects on various common themes in retirement and employment, including the normal retirement age, deferred retirement, early retirement, partial retirement, retirement regimes for persons in arduous or hazardous jobs, retirement regimes based on means or income testing and taxation. This book will be of interest to a wide audience, including (among others) academics, legal experts and pension specialists.

Prof. Dr. Emma Suzanne van Aggelen is an assistant professor of law at Hasselt University (Belgium). Her expertise lies in tax and pension law. Furthermore, she holds a teaching affiliation at the University of Leuven (Belgium), where she also obtained her PhD. She is a board member of INPeR (the International Network of Pension Researchers) and a Netspar research fellow.