Smashing Through the Bureaucratic Mindset
If it takes a country over 50 years to abolish a derisory 25p payment to octogenarians, what chance does it have of fixing HS2, the quango state or anything else? This is our challenge.
I just learned the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions writes to people as they approach age 80 with the great news that their state pension is going up. They are told they will receive the Age Addition of 25p a week.
The letter runs to four pages. Most of it rehearses how to appeal and sets out solemn commitments to fairness. The final page is printed to say it is intentionally blank, an old bureaucratic absurdity.
According to the Daily Express:
Similar to the controversial £10 Christmas bonus, the 25p payment has never been adjusted for inflation since it was first introduced in 1971. At the time, pensions were £6 per week, so 25p represented a 4% boost. Even today, some over 80s can get a whopping 25p added to their pensions.
According to GB News, the present government has said the scheme is simple to administer with negligible administrative costs. Evidently, “In 2024, some 474,239 letters were issued at a cost of £278,030 for printing and postage.” It is a trivial sum in government terms, but eventually the hundreds of thousands of pounds add up to real money…
Look at the benefit and pension rates 2026-27, and you find a horror show of administrative complexity. At least under the new state pension, the Age Addition is not paid, but how on earth has it taken over 50 years to get rid of this absurdity? What kind of mindset makes this possible, and how do we fight it?
