Individual responsibility has increased in the European pension systems, causing concerns to rise regarding pension adequacy, particularly amid the growing life expectancy rate and the increasingly precarious work and family trajectories. This study examines the Dutch case to identify risk and buffer factors associated with pension adequacy. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines a literature review, interviews with experts, a focus group with retirement practitioners, and interviews with pensioners, we analyse how personal, social, and institutional factors interact across the life course. The findings have been structured according to Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecologicalmodel and they confirm that women, migrants, and the self-employed are exposed to a higher risk of pension inadequacy. At the same time, pension outcomes are shaped by specific life events and intersecting circumstances, such as divorce, part-time work, or having limited access to the pension system. By highlighting how combinations of risk and buffer factors shape retirement outcomes, this study enhances the way pension adequacy can be understood and how more inclusive pension policies can be developed.
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