This paper seeks to revisit the thesis of the popularity of welfare states and the widespread support against
pension reforms. Our analysis explores to what degree public opinion defends the status quo or is willing
to support retrenchment-oriented reforms. Our first research question investigates whether particular
social classes, the retirees, and trade union members as well as party supporters differ in their overall
welfare value-orientation and their pension-specific attitudes. We also address a second research question:
can cross-national variations in general welfare value-orientations and pension-specific attitudes be
explained by particular institutional variations in these welfare systems, party systems and interest
organization systems? We therefore analyse two major dimensions, i.e. (social) redistribution and extensity
(scope of government), using the 2008 European Social Survey. We compare three countries with
different pension systems, organized interests, and party systems: Britain (UK), France, and Germany. We
relate the cross-national differences in attitudes to variations in welfare regime in general (Liberal vs.
Conservative) and pension systems in particular (Bismarck vs. Beveridge). Our results show more
pronounced social differences in respect to welfare value-orientations but also cross-national differences
in pension-specific attitudes toward redistribution. Finally, political affiliations show more social and
cross-national variations than social classes, indicating that ideological alignment are more pronounced
than social class.
