Caught between virtue and ideological necessity. A century of pension policies in the UK

Abstract

This article describes the introduction and subsequent development of old age pensions in the UK. In accounting for nearly a century of pensions history it eschews the idea of linear progression and, instead, charts the interrelated histories that constitute the complex picture of retirement income. These include public pension provision, starting in 1908, the extension of social insurance in the late 1940s and the reform of pensions from a neo-liberal perspective in the 1980s. It also charts the emergence of occupational pension schemes and their impact on social stratification in old age. The article emphasises that, despite changes in pension provision over this long period and the transformation in work force composition and family structure, many of the same issues that concerned policy makers and campaigners in this field a 100 years ago are still present today. Examples include the questions of how to encourage and reward thrift, maintain financial viability and eradicate poverty. The article includes some speculation about the future direction of pensions policy in the UK and, finally, places this country in a European pensions policy context.