Abstract
The fortunes of older people in late nineteenth-century England varied considerably. At the two extremes were a comfortable retirement and complete reliance on the New Poor Law, but most older people got by on some combination of part-time work, familial support, and transfer payments from the New Poor Law. This paper considers the extent to which access to resources during working age affected the risk of becoming pauperised (that is, dependent on transfer payments from the New Poor Law) in old age. We hypothesised that access to resources was an important determinant of old age pauperisation and that such access was associated with household living arrangements in earlier life. The analysis was conducted at both aggregate and individual levels and was based on a sample of small areas in England. We linked census data to New Poor Law records to assess the extent to which individuals relied on payments from the New Poor Law in their old age. We distinguished between those who, in their old age, received transfer payments while living in their own homes and those who were institutionalised through admission to the workhouse. The main finding is that people who, in earlier adult life, lived in households containing extended family members were less likely to have recourse to the New Poor Law in their old age than those who, in earlier adult life, lived with only their spouse and offspring. The results also support previous work that has found that females were more likely than males to be supported by the New Poor Law, but that males were more likely than females to enter workhouses.
Highlights
The study of older people in late-Victorian England has long been documented through their relationship with the welfare system of the New Poor Law
Our two hypotheses may be stated as follows. Individuals who, in their working ages, maintained contact with their families, both immediate and extended, were less likely to have to rely on the New Poor Law to support them in their old age than were individuals who did not maintain such contact
Females were more likely to be pauperised in old age than were males, but males who did rely on the New Poor Law were more likely than females to enter the workhouse
Summary
The study of older people in late-Victorian England has long been documented through their relationship with the welfare system of the New Poor Law. Contemporaries in the Victorian period who surveyed the aged poor found that older people were more likely than the adult working-age population to be admitted to workhouses or to receive transfer payments (known as outdoor relief ) in their own homes. Contemporaries in the Victorian period who surveyed the aged poor found that older people were more likely than the adult working-age population to be admitted to workhouses or to receive transfer payments (known as outdoor relief ) in their own homes This was partly because older people were less able to earn a living for themselves, being subject to a range of infirmities associated with being old. Many relied on a combination of transfer payments from the welfare system and familial support
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