When I was young, like many youngsters, I didn’t give much
thought to my old age and whether I would be financially comfortable or
desperately poor.
Old age seemed such a long way off, it didn’t seem worth
thinking about. I suppose I assumed that however my life panned out, everything
would be fine. If it wasn’t, the welfare state would help me out. I certainly
wouldn’t be living on the streets.
But things have changed so drastically since then that more
and more youngsters are giving serious thought to their old age and what it
will be like.
With more and more old people and fewer and fewer births, the
state will struggle to help oldies and
may have to rethink or even scrap its current provisions – welfare benefits, the
NHS, the state pension, travel passes, winter fuel payments, free prescriptions
and more.
A lot of youngsters are now thinking seriously about
providing for their old age. They’re setting up personal pensions, making
investments, buying property if they can afford to, living with their parents
so as to add to their savings. They’re less likely to be as cavalier about the
future as the young me and my age group.
But how shocking it is that young people can no longer
assume that if all else fails the state will ensure their old age is
comfortable and they don’t have to rely entirely on their own resources. What
an unnecessary burden that would be.
