They call them the baby boomers, and they are certainly arriving like a Big Bang on the pensions scene. They were born in 1945-46 as the war ended, and are threatening to strain government resources to the limit, as many of them take the basic state pension very soon.
Some 1.45 of them will turn 65 by the end of 2012 – around 650,000 in 2011 and 800,000 more in 2012.
What is more, many of them spent their working lives in the golden era of final salary pension schemes and rising property prices, and paid less attention than they should have to making their own pensions provision. Many have inflated expectations of the lifestyle their pension lump sums and ongoing pension income will bring.
They may be in for a shock, when they realise that the basic state pension is just £97.65p per week.
Read : First Swell of baby boomers drains basic state pension
