changing of the UKs Old Age Pension System
The first organised pension scheme was introduced in the 1640s by the Royal Air Force to help its officers avoid hard times in their old age, however, most people had to rely on their employers benevolence to provide occupational pensions. ... He also offered a good deal to his retired workers, they could live in purpose built almshouses and would receive a decent pension. ... To try and help these people the government passed the Old Age Pensions Act in 1908. This introduced the first general old age pension paying a non-contributory amount of between 10p and 25p a week, from age 70, on a means-tested basis from January 1 1909. ... This act introduced contributory State pension for all. ... Although the pension age was lowered to 65 for men and 60 for women, (and was adopted by businesses as the retirement age) Beveridge had intended that people would work beyond this age to secure extra saving so they would not be so reliant on the state pension. He also intended that a pension fund would be built up from employers and employees contributions. However, the Labour government that took over from Winston Churchill after the Second World War decided to begin the National Insurance (NI) pension immedietly. Due to this it was agreed that the NI pension would be funded on a pay as you go (PAYG) basis, here the NI contributions paid by workers in employment go towards paying the pensions of those in retirement.