Abstract:
Women bear a disproportionate share of elderly care costs, compounding existing pension and earnings gaps. Caregiving reduces women's employment and wages along both extensive and intensive margins, cutting pension wealth. Gender norms - not just economics - drive the "caregiving daughter" effect, penalizing women regardless of their earnings. Pension rules that enable early retirement may ease short-run care needs but deepen women's long-run economic insecurity. Effective policy requires coordinated reform: pension credits, public care investment, and legal migration pathways for carers.
