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Article: Government could dispel misery overnight ; One hundred years ago today the first Old Age Pensions Act became law and went on to the statute book. It introduced a non- contributory pension of five shillings a week (about 23 per cent of average earnings) for individual men and women of "good character" at age 70 - criminals and the work-shy were specifically excluded.
- Article from:
- Western Morning News, The Plymouth (UK)
- Article date:
- August 1, 2008
CopyrightCopyright 2008 Western Morning News, The Plymouth (UK). Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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One hundred years ago today the first Old Age Pensions Act became
law and went on to the statute book. It introduced a non-
contributory pension of five shillings a week (about 23 per cent of
average earnings) for individual men and women of "good character"
at age 70 - criminals and the work-shy were specifically excluded.
Although means-tested, it established the principle that the
state had a responsibility for providing a pension in old age.
Before this legislation, old people who were no longer able to work
depended on cold charity to survive. Most endured their days in the
workhouse. The 1908 Act was a major advance in social policy that,
in time, would lay the foundations for both ...