History of Pensions

The First State Pension started in 1909 and was worth 5 shillings per week to man or woman who had reached the age of 70. The current State Pension started in 1948 and the Full Basic State Pension for an individual currently stands at £84.25 per week.

In 1950 a man aged 65 could expect on average to live to the age of 76. Today a man reaching age 65 can expect to live to 85 and by 2050 this is expected to go up to 89 years of age. Due to this increase the pensioner population, as a percentage against the number of people working is increasing. In 1950 the ratio of those retired when compared to those working stood at 19 per cent. Today it has risen to around 27 per cent. By 2050 the current forecasts are that it will be 47 per cent.

Further changes are planned. Between 2010 and 2020 any woman retiring will see their State Pension Age increase gradually from 60 to 65 years of age. Then current proposals say that for both men and women over a 2 year period from 2024 this will increase to 66 years of age, followed by another 1 year increase phased in over 2 years from 2034 and finally a further 1 year increase to 68 years of age phased in by the same manner from 2044.

This is unlikely to be the end of the changes. The Government have already announced proposals to periodically commission reviews, drawing on a range of independent expert advice in the light of the emerging evidence of demographic change.

For more information on pensions please click one of the following links:

Stakeholder Pensions
Personal Pensions