Sir, – It’s variously said that modern political actors ranging from Dominic Cummings to Angela Merkel approach complex problems by asking “What would Bismarck do?” Fortunately, on the issue of pensions, one need not ask the question as a hypothetical. The Iron Chancellor introduced a social welfare payment initially for those over 70, with broad and inclusive conditions of availability. It’s often said his motivation was to obviate the rise of a socialist party. And it’s rumoured that the age was chosen on the basis that he asked one of his generals how long soldiers live, and was told that few reach the age of 70. But, however cynical his reasoning, it is clear that he introduced an innovative stipend which allayed some of the hardships of ageing. At that point, less than 1 per cent of the population were eligible to receive the payment, and one can presume that few of them lived very long once it began.
In the interim, life expectancy has changed dramatically while retirement ages have broadly declined. Reaching the now conventional cut-off of 65 in modern Ireland, one joins a cohort of about 750,000 people, or around 15 per cent of the population. Well over 1 per cent nowadays, some 84,000 people, are over 85. Looking at the demographic composition of modern European countries, the 140 years in the interim have transformed the lives of normal people in ways that must be celebrated. It is a summary of the totality of human achievement – that extra decades of productive wellness can be enjoyed as compared to previous generations.
If there is a “downside to all this upside”, it is that retirement ages will have to increase. The Taoiseach is to be commended for drawing attention to this (“Radical pension changes on way, says Taoiseach”, News, July 23rd). Globally, perhaps the major problem of modern political life is one of populists making promises that are selected by emotional content and popularity rather than feasibility. In taking a grown-up approach and telling us the truth we need to hear rather than something we’d like to, Mr Martin shows some integrity. This is all the more true for his taking this position on a matter which will only fully materialise subsequent to his own political career. But the realpolitik – another term associated with Bismarck – is that anyone opposing this need is denying financial and demographic reality, and that we should recognise it as a price well worth paying for the longevity we now expect. Retirement nowadays, if based around a cut-off that included only 1 per cent of us, would occur at about 87 years. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.