100 years and more of pension complications

In 1908, David Lloyd George, the then chancellor of the exchequer in the UK and Ireland steered through — against considerable opposition — a revolution in social welfare.

The idea was simple and yet radical: That people in their old age, unable to work, should have a modest stipend and not be a burden on their families. Ireland benefited from this also, and more than 170,000 obtaining some pension, the 1908 act providing for means testing.

Since then, pension provision has evolved massively. Pensions are in principle a fairly simple thing: You put aside a sum of money on which you can draw for future needs. The problem arises in that it is inherently an act of forecasting.