In fact, only about one-tenth of the increase is due to upticks in old-age pensions and health-care programs for seniors.

WSJ: Nicholas Eberstadt: Yes, Mr. President, We Are a Nation of Takers

Congress rejected this 1937 proposal and turned against further New Deal measures, but not before the Social Security Act creating old-age pensions went into effect.

NYTIMES: The Great Depression

It has stabilised the economy, built a million houses, brought water and electricity to many who lacked it before, and provided a safety-net for many poor families through old-age pensions.

ECONOMIST: South Africa

His attention is focused on the old age welfare system, comprising pensions, health care, and nursing care.

FORBES: Academic Appeal for "Small Government"

In what has been for most politicians three months of absorption in the exigencies of the disaster, the bureaucracy has nonetheless plodded on to produce a financial restructuring proposal for the old age welfare system, particularly pensions.

FORBES: The Fog Begins to Clear

One strategy is to relieve the pressure on mandatory pensions by encouraging private, voluntary saving for old age.

ECONOMIST: Ageing and public finances

Usefully, he includes a short history of pension provision, short because in the bad old days there was not much need for pensions: people generally worked until they dropped dead at an early age.

ECONOMIST: The history and future of pensions