This important study examines the evolution of the most important aspect of the founding of the British welfare state: the debate on retirement and state pensions between 1878 and 1948. The author uses much original research to describe the evolution of a social policy, and challenging new insights are offered into many areas of social history and social policy, notably the role of social reformers, the Charity Organisation Society, the friendly societies, the main political parties and the trade unions. The book concludes with a radical reinterpretation of the 1942 Beveridge Report.