ABSTRACT
The Old Age Pensions Act of 1908, which first introduced the payment of Non-Contributory Old Age Pensions, had been preceded in Great Britain by some twenty-three years of public discussion; six different bodies had wrestled with the problem of what to do about the aged poor. The Act of 1908 was strongly moralistic, reflecting the strict nonconformist backing of the dominant Liberal Party. The 1908 Act holds the balance between the past and the future of social policy. The Act provides that three months’ income from National Health Insurance, Friendly Society or Trade Union, received by either the pensioner or husband or wife of the pensioner, and shall be disregarded in any one year. Widows’ Pensions are normally payable from the date of the husband’s death, provided that he was insured at the time of his death. The Widows’, Orphans’ and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act of 1937 are commonly called the Black-coated Workers’ Act.
