HAVE YOUR SAY: The State Pension turns 100

THE State pension turns 100 this month as pensioners across the country enter a new period of financial turmoil.

Rising fuel costs are the main contributor, with thousands facing problems as the winter gets nearer.

The Old Age Pensions Act was passed in August 1908 and the first payments were made on 1 January 1909.

That month, just over half a million old and very poor people queued up at their local post offices to collect the

The maximum payment of five shillings (25p) for a single man or woman was meagre - the equivalent of just under £20 a week now.

To get even this you had to be at least 70 years old, at a time when only about 5% of the population were older than that.

Now, according to the most recent analysis by the Office for National Statistics, male pensioners had a total income from all sources of, on average, £257 a week while pensioner women received £229.

For men, state benefits of all kinds made up nearly 55% of that, while female pensioners received nearly 65% of their money from the state.

So, will the state system pension system last another 100 years?

Or are we increasingly finding our own ways to provide for our retirement?

Do you think the State pension should be cancelled, or is it a vital tool in a modern society? And how can we improve the current system?

Have you struggled to make ends meet after retirement, or have you adapted by taking on a part-time job?

Whatever your view, use the form below to let us know...