OH, AREN’T WE THE LUCKY ONES! You will all be aware that the UK Government has been seeking to delay the age of retirement, and thus the age from which you can claim your ‘Old Age Pension’ from the State. But did you know that a State pension was first introduced by Count von Bismarck or, more properly, Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of BismarckSchonhausen, Duke of Lauenburg, or just Otto to his pals. In 1889, the sociallyminded Otto provided a pension for all workers who reached the age of 65, and that age has been used ever since as the age of retirement – and getting a pension. But, at the time, life expectancy in Germany was around age 50, so generous at it appeared at the time, it did not cost the State too much. In fact, because each worker had to make a contribution from his pay packet, as did the employer AND the regional governments, hindsight would suggest that it was a rather smart revenue-earning ploy for the State. Does any of that sound familiar? But let’s think on! Over the past century or so, global life expectancy has increased by at least 50%, and reaching age 75 these days is not unusual. If we apply the Bismarck formula of ‘life expectancy + 15 years’, the age of retirement and picking up your State pension would be at age 80. But if we focus on Europe, the average life expectancy is over 80, so our retirement age would be at age 95, on the Bismarck scale. We know that the numbers of centenarians in Europe as a whole is increasing, and by 2050, it is expected there will be over half a million with the most in Italy, France and Greece and the fewest in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania - statistically. And to put these facts into some sort of perspective, about 13% of all centenarians at present did not receive any formal education, and in Europe, women out-live men and rural-dwellers out-live townies. In the UK, the average age of the population is steadily increasing, and in 2040 will be by about 4%, while the average age of the workers whose taxes provide the State pension pot is shrinking and in 2040 will be only about 2% greater.
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