Old Age Pensions Act 1908

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Old Age Pensions Act 1908
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (1901-1952).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to provide for Old-Age Pensions.
Citation 8 Edw. 7. c. 40
Territorial extent England and Wales; Scotland; Ireland
Dates
Royal assent 1 August 1908
Commencement 1 January 1909
Other legislation
Amended byOld Age Pensions Act 1924
Status: Repealed
Old Age Pensions Act 1924
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (1901-1952).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to amend paragraph (3) of section two of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908.
Citation 14 & 15 Geo. 5. c. 33
Dates
Royal assent 7 August 1924
Other legislation
AmendsOld Age Pensions Act 1908

The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 40) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, passed in 1908. The act is one of the foundations of modern social welfare in both the present-day United Kingdom and the Irish Republic and forms part of the wider social welfare reforms of the Liberal government of 1906–1914. [1]

Contents

Successful single claimants over the age of seventy were paid five shillings a week, while couples in which the husband was aged over seventy got seven shillings and sixpence per week. [2]

History

A royal commission (1893-1895) chaired by Lord Aberdare investigated the viability of old age pensions, but issued an adverse verdict for economic reasons. [3] A second committee (1896-1898) chaired by Lord Rothschild gave an adverse verdict on setting up an old age pension. [3] A 1899 committee reported favorably on establishing old age pensions for those above the age of 65. [3] A number of bills were introduced in Parliament over the period 1900-1907. [3]

The Old Age Pensions Act 1908 was passed in Parliament on May 7, 1908 in H. H. Asquith's budget. [3]

Outline

The act provided for a non-contributory old age pension for people over the age of seventy, with the cost being borne by taxpayers generally. It was enacted in 1908 and was to pay a weekly pension of 5s (7s 6d for married couples) with effect from 1 January 1909. The level of benefit was deliberately set low – the approximate equivalent of £23 for unmarried pensioners and £37 for married pensioners in 21st century terms [4] – to encourage workers to go on making their own provision for retirement.

In order to be eligible, claimants had to be over the age of 70, have been a British subject for 20 years and have resided in Great Britain and Ireland for at least twenty years. It was open to both men and women, both married and single, their "yearly means" not exceeding £31 10s. [5] Only those with a 'good character' could receive the pensions. [5] Others excluded from receiving the new pension were those in receipt of poor relief, those being held in what were then called 'lunatic asylums', those who had served a prison sentence and been released less than ten years before, those convicted of drunkenness (at the discretion of the court), and any person who was guilty of ‘habitual failure to work’, according to ability. [6]

Implementation

The pension was due to be paid from 1 January 1909, and those eligible had to apply to a local pension committee starting in October 1908 set up by the county councils. [5] Forms for applicants were available from the end of September 1908 and had to be returned to the postmaster of the post office that would pay the individual's benefit. [5] The claims were assessed by the pension officers and then sent to the local pension committee for approval. [5]

On 31 December 1908 a total of 596,038 pensions had been granted: [7]

RateEngland
(excluding Monmouthshire)		Wales
(including Monmouthshire)		ScotlandIreland
5s297,33219,69160,787161,578
4s15,1788641,4433,101
3s14,8308051,4883,131
2s7,1853626561,628
1s4,423234395927
Totals338,94821,95664,769170,365

Effects

UK Liberal Party poster in 1909 defends new old age pension shown as a little dog while the rich aristocratic landlord has a huge pension (shown as a very large dog). UK Liberal Poster 1907.jpg
UK Liberal Party poster in 1909 defends new old age pension shown as a little dog while the rich aristocratic landlord has a huge pension (shown as a very large dog).

See also

State pensions acts
Private pensions acts

References

  1. ↑ Sacks, Benjamin (1937). "The Passage of the British Old Age Pension Act of 1908". The Southwestern Social Science Quarterly. 17 (4): 331–341. ISSN   0276-1742.
  2. ↑ Gazeley, Ian (17 July 2003). Poverty in Britain 1900–1945. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN   978-0333716199.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Secrist, Horace (1909). "Old Age Pensions--English Act of 1908". The American Political Science Review. 3 (1): 68–73. doi:10.2307/1945920. ISSN   0003-0554.
  4. 1 2 Roberts, Andrew (2018). Churchill: Walking with Destiny. Allen Lane. p. 129. ISBN   9780241205631.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5
  6. ↑ Macnicol, John (13 August 1998). The Politics of Retirement in Britain, 1908–1948. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 157–8. ISBN   978-0521622738.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Thompson, Flora (1979). Lark Rise to Candleford. Oxford University Press. p. 86.

Further reading

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