People born at the same time are all entitled to receive the main public pension at the same retirement age.

This tends to advantage people of high socioeconomic status, who on average live longer and therefore receive pension benefits for more years. They also tend to start working later because they spend more time in education.

Other features of the system advantage people of low socioeconomic status. The basic pension amount is the same for everyone, regardless of lifetime earnings or how much they paid in taxes.

Pension supplements are higher for those with low or no individual pension savings. And people with long work histories or reduced work ability may qualify for early retirement benefits.