Thinking about old people: “During Elizabethan and Victorian times, English poor laws represented a shift whereby the poor were seen merely as morally degenerate, and were expected to perform forced labour in workhouses.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pension#History)

The concept and realization of retirement plans, worldwide, is not older than 120 years, yet it seems unthinkable to us to leave old people without income. Society and the economy have adopted very well to this system of providing an income to a large part of the population.

Even though retired people are given a mainly unconditional income they already contribute positively to the economy, raising the national net product. https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk%2FUploads%2FDocuments%2Fgold_age_report_2011.pdf&ei=zw2eVayIF6eAzAOr0qXgCg&usg=AFQjCNG6_Hv9KLF_Dhe1WSrio2GsltK7xA&bvm=bv.96952980,d.bGQ