But the welfare state is - and always was - a numbers game.
You leave school at 14, 15, 16, or 18 (depending on era)
You work for 40-45 years, while paying in a few % of salary in NI conts
You draw retirement pension for an average of 7 years (in the 40s/50's)
Medical cover, cradle to grave and a pension based on a government statistician's best guess about how long you and others of your generation will live.
The medical service has extended our lifespans and the statisticians should really have begun revising their lifespan guesses (annuity rate calculations) 40 years ago. Unfortunately MPs pay scales are based on Civil Service pay scales and the government statisticians evidently didn't dare to tweak the status quo.
The only way out of this mess is to return to the conditions when the welfare state began and simply make sure that the workforce always outnumbers the retired population.
//I would prefer the indigenous population made more of an effort. //
I think everyone is already nose to the grindstone, trying not to slip up at work and get sacked. What more can they do?