Progress or Betrayal?
The idea of state pensions in England began with the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908, brought in by the Liberal government under David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, then President of the Board of Trade.
It was a radical step: a non-contributory pension of 5 shillings a week for those over 70 years old. Sounds good but at a time the average life expectancy was barely 50 years old. Most people didn’t live long enough to collect it, and those who had received poor relief or been to prison were excluded. But it was a start.
The pension was rooted in pressure from Trade Unions, social reformers, and the Labour Representation Committee (which became the Labour Party). The 1908 Act was both a response to dire poverty and a political manoeuvre to stem rising socialist sentiment. It was designed to keep the elderly out of the workhouse and out of radical politics.
The National Insurance Act of 1911, also from Lloyd George, introduced a contributory system covering workers for sickness, unemployment, and, later, pensions. Still, coverage was patchy, and benefits were meagre. Over the decades, the system expanded, but often too slowly to keep pace with real needs.
The Beveridge Report of 1942, commissioned by Churchill’s wartime coalition, laid the groundwork for the modern welfare state. But it was Attlee’s Labour government (1945–1951) that implemented the vision.
The National Insurance Act 1946 created a universal contributory pension system, a true turning point. Everyone who worked paid in, and everyone was entitled to a basic pension.
Yet successive governments failed to index pensions properly to earnings. In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s government broke the link between pensions and average wages, tying increases to inflation instead.
This decision slashed the relative value of pensions and shifted the burden onto private provision. It was a watershed moment that hollowed out the state’s promise.
The New Labour government under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown introduced Pension Credit and later auto-enrolment for workplace pensions, helping some of the poorest retirees.
But they also accelerated the privatisation of retirement through an emphasis on market-driven pension schemes. The state pension age began to rise from then on which a trend continued by Conservative governments since 2010.
Despite regular reforms, pension inequality is still rife. Many women, carers, and low-paid workers receive less. The WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign, launched in response to state pension age increases for women without adequate notice, highlighted the system’s failures and both Conversative and Labour government’s indifference.
Today, millions rely on a basic state pension that is among the lowest in the developed world.
Private pensions are increasingly insecure, and the dream of a dignified retirement is fading for younger generations. (check the world comparison chart to see how badly placed the UK and workers in England are)
The most transformative government for pensions was Attlee’s post-war Labour, building a system based on solidarity. The worst damage came under Thatcher’s Conservative, who handed responsibility to the market.
Pensions were never a gift, they were won by struggle. And what was once a promise is now at risk of becoming a policy of abandonment.
The Pension Crisis Today and Labour’s Betrayal
Today, the UK pension system is facing a slow-motion crisis, one worsened not just by Tory neglect, but now by the Labour Party’s quiet retreat from its founding principles.
Despite the introduction of auto-enrolment, most private pensions remain inadequate for a dignified retirement. The average pension pot in the UK is less than £60,000, barely enough to generate a modest income. Meanwhile, the state pension is just over £11,000 a year, far below the £14,400 minimum income standard set by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Even with the so-called triple lock, retirees are struggling with rising rents, energy bills, and food costs.
For decades, campaigners called for the state pension to rise in line with earnings, not just inflation. But under both Conservative and Labour governments, that link was broken.
Since 2010, the Tories have used austerity, stealth cuts, and age rises to quietly erode pension entitlements. Yet Labour, under Keir Starmer’s leadership, has refused to commit to reversing this erosion.
In fact, The Labour Party has abandoned key promises made under Jeremy Corbyn, such as compensating WASPI women, restoring public-sector pension protections, or reintroducing defined benefit schemes in the public sector.
Starmer has also refused to guarantee the triple lock beyond the short term, despite the fact that over 2 million UK pensioners live in poverty, including a disproportionate number of women.
Worse, Labour now supports further raising the state pension age, despite overwhelming evidence that it hits manual workers, carers, and the poorest hardest.
Life expectancy gains have stalled or reversed in deprived areas, yet politicians from all sides continue to pretend that people can work into their late 60s or beyond.
And while Labour cosies up to finance, there’s been no serious plan to tackle the growing divide between those with generous final-salary pensions and those with insecure gig-economy savings pots*. Nor has there been any attempt to confront the profit-extracting role of pension fund managers, consultants, and insurers who bleed the system dry while delivering little security to savers.
This is not just a failure of policy, it’s a betrayal of principle.
The Labour Party was founded to protect working people “from the cradle to the grave.” Today, it stands mute as retirement becomes a luxury for the wealthy, not a right for all.
Real leadership would mean restoring the state pension to a living level, reversing age rises, compensating those already hit, and ending the quiet drift to a future of poverty in old age.
Instead, we get silence, and the slow abandonment of a century-old promise.
(*A gig worker is someone who earns income by completing short-term, flexible, or freelance jobs, often arranged through digital platforms or apps.)
Stephen Morris, General Secretary of the Workers of England Union highlighted:-
“People have worked their whole lives, only to be told they’ll have to wait even longer for a pension that still won’t pay the bills. This last announcement of an age review, is a disgrace. Shame on this Labour government for pushing retirement further out of reach and no one can say anymore that this Labour government represents the interest of the workers of England. I urge members to encourage their colleagues to join the WEU so we can continue to highlight these betrayals”.
Global Pension Comparison (Best to Worst)
Just to clarify, here is a comparison chart of state pension systems in selected countries, ranked best to worst for the average retiree. This uses the most recent data (2023–2024) from OECD and other reputable sources, focusing on net replacement rate (how much of your income you get in retirement), retirement age, and pension poverty rates.
| Rank | Country | *Net Replacement Rate (%) | State Pension (annual, £ equiv.) | Statutory Retirement Age | Notes |
| 1 | Netherlands | 90% | £18,000–£20,000 | 67 | Universal basic + strong workplace pension system |
| 2 | Denmark | 84% | £16,500+ | 67 | Generous universal scheme + means-tested top-up |
| 3 | Portugal | 89% | £13,000–£15,000 | 66 | High income replacement, despite modest wages |
| 4 | Italy | 84% | £14,000+ | 67 | High but under financial strain |
| 5 | Spain | 80% | £13,500 | 66 | Generous, but ageing population pressures sustainability |
| 6 | France | 74% | £13,000–£15,000 | 64 (increasing to 67) | Universal with strong union protections |
| 7 | Germany | 52% | £11,000–£13,000 | 66–67 | Low replacement for low earners; private top-ups encouraged |
| 8 | Canada | 60% | £9,500–£12,000 | 65 | Public + workplace pensions, but limited basic benefit |
| 9 | Australia | 41% | £10,000 (means-tested) | 67 | Heavy reliance on superannuation (private saving) |
| 10 | United States | 51% | £12,000 average | 66–67 | Social Security under strain, low for poor earners |
| 11 | United Kingdom | 28% | £11,500 | 66 (rising) | Lowest state pension in developed world; relies heavily on private schemes |
(*Net replacement rate is the percentage of a worker’s take-home pay that they receive in retirement through pensions).
Key points
- The UK has the lowest state pension replacement rate in the developed world.
- Netherlands and Denmark lead due to strong public schemes plus compulsory occupational pensions.
- The UK relies on private saving, despite stagnant wages and insecure work.
- Many EU countries have more generous, earnings-related pensions, often coordinated with Trade Unions and employers.
- Pension poverty in the UK affects 1 in 5 pensioners, while it’s almost zero in Denmark and the Netherlands.