It’s the old that get the benefits, and the Tories the election wins

The government spends more than twice as much on each pensioner as on each working-age Briton

One of the major shifts in government spending over recent years has been away from young people and towards those in retirement. A study due this week from the Intergenerational Foundation thinktank shows that while spending on pensioners and children respectively increased at similar rates before 2010-11, the austerity years to 2019 proved much more generous to the old.

The report finds that in 2018-19, the government spent on average 14,660 on each child, 10,180 on each working-age adult, and 20,790 on each pensioner" and that the gap in per capita spending on children and pensioners more than doubled over the previous 20 years.

A pensioner has much more disposable income than a worker on the same money, especially if the latter wants to start a family or buy a home