DEPARTMENT FOR WORK
AND PENSIONS News Release (PENS-096) issued by COI News Distribution
Service. 1 January 2009
One hundred years
ago today the first pensioners went to the Post Office to collect
a State Pension of 5 shillings a week. In 1909 half a million
people over 70 got a pension. Now they number over 12 million,
with more than 700,000 people reaching State Pension age in 2009 alone.
Today the Basic State Pension is worth around four times more
than the amount received in 1909. Help with fuel, Council Tax and
rent plus the one-off payment of £60 on top of the regular £10
Christmas payment bonus boosts it further.
Around 12,000 people in the UK will share their 100th birthday
with the State Pension this year and by 2050 we can expect 250,000
new centenarians each year - that's a lot of telegrams!
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions James Purnell
said:
"It is incredible to think that one in four babies
born today could live to 100. Things have come a long way since
1909. People live longer and want more from later life. These days
people can spend a quarter of a century getting their State Pension."
"As the State Pension moves into its second century we are
committed to ensuring that pensioners receive the help they need.
Which is why, alongside the State Pension and Pension Credit, this
winter pensioners will receive additional support through their
Winter Fuel Payment and an extra £60 bonus."
The first pension was non contributory but was means tested.
Pensions Officers visited people's houses to check how much
money and what possessions they had - including the kitchen sink.
People also had to prove they were of 'good character'
before they received a penny.
Minister for Pensions and the Ageing Society Rosie Winterton added:
"Today we salute the first pension pioneers who fought to
provide security for people in old age. 100 years on the State
Pension continues to be a foundation of support for people as they
retire and we have taken steps now to ensure this will be the case
for years to come."
-ends-
Website http://www.dwp.gov.uk
Notes to Editors
1. For photos, archive material, and facts and figures on the
state pension centenary go to http://www.dwp.gov.uk/mediacentre/pensioncentenary/
2. The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 created a means-tested state
pension of up to five shillings per week for some of the poorest
pensioners aged 70 and above. To receive it people had to pass a
'character test'. People were ruled out of a pension if
they had refused work when able, made themselves poor in order to
qualify, had been imprisoned or were habitually inebriated.
3. The full pension was 5 shillings (25p) for single man or
woman, 7s and 6d (38p) for a married man. In today's money
that's £19.30 and £29. By the end of 1909, there were around
500,000 pensions in payment in Great Britain.
4. Only 24 per cent of people survived to 70 in 1908. Those who
did lived for just nine more years, on average. Today, 84 per cent
of us make it to collect our state pension (at 60 for women and 65
for men) and live, on average, for a further 24 years -
that's a third of our lives in retirement.
5. During the last 100 years the proportion of people of working
age to pensioners has shrunk considerably. One reason for
reforming the system is to prevent the cost of an ageing
population being passed on to future generations of working age
people. At the beginning of the last century there were 10 workers
for every pensioner. Today, the ratio is about four to one, and by
2050 it will be about two workers to each pensioner.
6. Pensioners are set for a £4 billion boost in 2009 with the
biggest rise in the Basic State Pension since 2001, on top of
£900m in Christmas Bonuses.
7. From April 2009, the Basic State Pension will go up by 5%,
ensuring someone on a full pension will see their weekly income go
up from £90.70 to £95.25. Pension Credit will also increase by the
highest amount ever, up from £124.05 to £130 per week for a single pensioner.
8. For more information on pension reform go to http://www.dwp.gov.uk/pensionsreform/
9. For information on the state pension and other benefits go to
http://www.pensionservice.gov.uk/
NEWS RELEASE