ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the principal aim of providing an overview of trends in social policy on retirement pensions in Britain. It argues that any pension’s policy should be bounded by a concern to present a policy that prescribes an adequate income, not only to future pensioners but also to today’s pensioners. Associated with the development of the concept of retirement and development of a ‘retirement pension’, there has been a distinct shift towards the withdrawal of older men over 65 from the labour market. The Basic Pension is payable to all those who have made sufficient National Insurance payments over the qualifying period. In the UK case a first step would be to raise the Basic Pension to at least £90 per week and for governments to utilise the published research evidence when assessing the level of benefits, particularly for older people to eradicate poverty in later life.
