Back in 1908 when the first state pensions were paid the world was a very different place, especially statistically. To quilify for a pension you would have had to be 70 years old and your claim would have been means tested, with the final decision on whether you received a pension being decided by a panel of nine that had to include at least two women.
Once over that hurdle, if you were average you would have received the pension for 9 years, this contrasts with today when the average time that a pension is paid is 24 years. Back in 1908 there were 10 workers for every pensioner, today that ratio has fallen to 4:1 and by 2050 it will be 2 workers for each pensioner.
So what are the chances of you reaching pensionable age? Well rather better than you might think at 84%, this compares with just 24% back in 1908. Those drawing the first state pensions were lucky as the life expectancy at their birth would have been 40 for men and 43 for women.
So as you can see the statistics are stacked against us, and just before you apply for a private pension here are a few more. By 2050 it is expected that the King or Queen will be sending out 250,000 telegrams each year compared to the current 10,000. And by 2060 there will be people celebrating their 120th birthday.
And finally, for the first time ever in this country in 2007 there were more pensioners than children. So I think you really should go and fill in that pension application.
