The increasing labour force participation of women is considered one of the most significant social changes of the past decades and has had a profound impact on the household division of labour and childbearing decisions. The growth in female labour market participation and the resulting difficulties in combining work and family duties does not only impact the number of hours women work, but it also impacts their working times.

Most welfare states in Europe have taken measures to make their public pension systems more sustainable, not only by increasing the retirement age but also by placing additional responsibility on individuals to close the pension gap through personal savings and private pension plans. A cross-national study by Douglas A. Hershey, Kne Henkens and Hendrik P. van Dalen investigates who worries most about their financial future in retirement and who takes active steps to ensure an adequate standard of living when retired.