Old - age Pensions Act 1908 - wikipedia Old - age Pensions Act 1908 Old - Age Pensions Act 1908 Parliament of the United Kingdom Long title... Citation 1908 c Territorial extent England and Wales ; Scotland ; Ireland Dates Royal assent 1908 Status : Repealed The Old - Age Pensions Act 1908 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1908. The Act is often regarded as one of the foundations of modern social welfare in the United Kingdom and forms part of the wider social welfare reforms of the Liberal Government of 1906 -- 1914. Contents 1 Outline 2 Implementation 3 Effects 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Outline The Act provided for a non-contributory old age pension for people over the age of 70, with the cost being borne by younger generations. It was enacted in January 1909 and paid a weekly pension of 5s a week ( 7s 6d for married couples ) to half a million who were eligible. The level of benefit was deliberately set low to encourage workers to also make their own provision for retirement. In order to be eligible, they had to be earning less than £ 31. 10s. per year, and had to pass a ' character test ' ; only those with a ' good character ' could receive the pensions. You also had to have been a UK resident for at least 20 years to be eligible and people who had n't worked their whole life were also not eligible. Also excluded were those in receipt of poor relief, people being held in what were then called ' lunatics asylums ', persons sentenced to prison for ten years after their release, persons convicted of drunkenness ( at the discretion of the court ), and any person who was guilty of ' habitual failure to work ' according to one 's ability. Implementation The pension was due to be paid from 1 January 1909 and those eligible had to apply to a Local Pension Committee starting in October 1908 set up by the county councils. Those eligible had to be over the age of 70, must have been a British subject for 20 years and have resided in the United Kingdom. It was open to both men and women, both married and single, and their yearly means must not exceed £ 31. 10s. Forms for applicants were available from end of September 1908 and had to be returned to the Postmaster of the Post Office that will pay the individual 's benefit. The claims were assessed by the Pension Officers and then sent to the Local Pension Committee for approval. On 31 December 1908 a total of 596,038 pensions had been granted : Rate England ( excluding Monmouthshire ) Wales ( including Monmouthshire ) Scotland Ireland 5s 297,332 19,691 60,787 161,578 4s 15,178 864 1,443 3,101 3s 14,830 805 1,488 3,131 2s 7,185 362 656 1,628 1s 4,423 234 395 927 Totals 338,948 21,956 64,769 170,365 Effects Initially, most of the recipients of the pension benefit were women. In order to remove any stigma in receiving the benefit, the scheme was administered by the Post Office rather than the existing social welfare agencies such as the parish or Poor Law. See also National Insurance Act 1911 Pension provision in the United Kingdom Timeline of pensions in the United Kingdom State pensions acts Widows Orphans and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act 1925 National Insurance Act 1946 National Insurance Act 1965 Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 ( ( 1 ) ) Private pensions acts Superannuation and other Funds ( Validation ) Act 1992 Pension Schemes Act 1993 Pensions Act 1995 Pensions Act 2004 Pensions Act 2007 Pensions Act 2008 References Jump up ^ Gazeley, Ian ( 17 July 2003 ). Poverty in Britain 1900 -- 1945. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978 - 0333716199. Jump up ^ Macnicol, John ( 13 August 1998 ). The Politics of Retirement in Britain, 1908 -- 1948. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. pp. 157 -- 8. ISBN 978 - 0521622738. ^ Jump up to : `` The Old - Age Pensions Act. The Regulations. ''. The Times ( 38732 ). 22 August 1908. p. 10. Jump up ^ `` Old - Age Pensions. Official Statistics. ''. The Times ( 38862 ). 21 January 1909. p. 10. External links Text of the Old - Age Pensions Act 1908 and Regulations United Kingdom legislation Pre-Parliamentary legislation List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485 -- 1601 1603 -- 1641 Interregnum ( 1642 -- 1660 ) 1660 -- 1699 1700 -- 1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain 1707 -- 1719 1720 -- 1739 1740 -- 1759 1760 -- 1779 1780 -- 1800 Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701 -- 1800 Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1801 -- 1819 1820 -- 1839 1840 -- 1859 1860 -- 1879 1880 -- 1899 1900 -- 1919 1920 -- 1939 1940 -- 1959 1960 -- 1979 1980 -- 1999 2000 to date Halsbury 's Statutes Legislation.gov.uk Short titles Church of England measures List Church of England Assembly ( Powers ) Act 1919 Legislation of devolved institutions Acts of the Scottish Parliament List Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales List Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council for Northern Ireland Orders - in - Council Order in Council Secondary legislation United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Acts of Sederunt Acts of Adjournal Legislation relating to the European Union 1972 to date Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old-Age_Pensions_Act_1908&oldid=768744258 '' Categories : Pensions in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1908 Pensions and benefits in the United Kingdom Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 5 March 2017, at 15 : 04. 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Question: when did old age pensions start in england
Answer: 1908