ABSTRACT
The social progress of society this century has been such that most individuals expect to receive a pension in their old age from the state. In addition, many people will receive a further pension from the occupational pension schemes of their previous employers. Today, retirement from work is a normal practice. However, the idea that people are entitled to give up work at a certain age and receive a pension is a relatively new concept that provided a solution for employers faced with the problem of old workers who were no longer economically useful to them. At the turn of the century there was no state pension scheme and private employers offering formal pension arrangements were a rarity. It was only within the public sector, particularly in the Civil Service, that some progress had been made in formalizing pensions.
