A Pension Paradox
Sta.—Today I have reached the age of 65. But there is no pension for me, because I have not been paying contributions for ten years. More- over, I find that because I have no pension. I have no claim to get my tobacco .11 the cheaper rate. These blessings of the Welfare State await me in nine years time, if I live as long, and if a general crash has not overwhelmed us all before then. Meanwhile, it is suggested that I con- tinue paying my contribution of 6s. 2d. a week (for members of the clergy are humorously classified as " self-employed"); otherwise my widow will suffer accordingly.
It seems -that the average age of the population is such that there are not enough, of the young to provide pensions for the old. Therefore we, who throughout our adult lives have spent the bulk of our substance on bringing up and educating the next generation, are now required to pro- side future pensions for them. This is the kind of thing that a man might voluntarily undertake from altruistic motives, especially if he happens to 1-elieve in the Christian faith, but it is monstrous that it should be imposed upon him by law.—Yours truly,• n R. M. Fakisrii. St. James's Vicarage. West Hampstead. N.W.6.
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