Dear LPG,

I am one of the growing number of people that have swapped reading a few pages in bed before I go off to sleep for having a little Google on my iPad, and one night not so long ago I found this information which I thought I could share with LPG readers.  I hope that the point of my writings will become apparent by the time you get to the last paragraph of my notes.

I found a website, which I hope that LPG has left a link for at the bottom of this post, and which shows  that we are pretty lucky even though most UK pensioners don’t really think so.  The site presents details about the history of the old age pension as it was called back in 1908 when it was first introduced for people over the age of 70 years old, when they received 5/- per week, and I thought that it made interesting reading. 

But I have done a bit of research to find out just how that amount equates in real value to the £125.95 basic pension that we each receive today.

I hope that LPG will also be able to add the link to another interesting website I found which converts the value of money in real terms when taking inflation into consideration.  I used it to work out exactly what those 7o year olds’ pension of 5/- per week would have been worth in real terms today, and found that, even though it does not seem so at times, we are better off because they would have been able to spend just £28.50 per week armed with their 5/-. 

The government knew what they were doing though because back in 1908 a lot less people got to the age of 70.

TM, Crofton Park

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