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Some ancient Romans got to retire with a pension at 42, but retirement’s changed a bit over the centuries

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/anthony-asher-247115">Anthony Asher</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a> Over the ages, there have been broadly three reasons why people have retired. Some are forced to by poor health – theirs or someone they care for. Others have alternative income sources, meaning they don’t rely on a regular pay cheque. And some are made to retire by an employer who wants to overhaul staffing. But where did the idea of retirement come from? And how was it handled in ancient times? <h2>Origins of support</h2> Retirement support – which these days comes in the form of superannuation or a government pension – dates back to ancient history in various forms. Some forms of retirement support were funded by local taxes or tithes, others by donations. Some systems were corrupt and the coverage was patchy. Records are not readily available from other cultures, but we know a little about ancient Rome and English history since then. Emperor Augustus, who ruled after Julius Caesar died, set up a <a href="https://pensionresearchcouncil.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/03Chap3.pdf">scheme</a> for Roman soldiers more than 2,000 years ago. The scheme aimed to ensure they retired while still strong and healthy, and would be less likely to cause trouble. The scheme paid a decent amount for soldiers after 25 years of service, so retirement age could be as young as 42. Pensions for older people in need also have ancient origins. The New Testament <a href="https://biblehub.com/1_timothy/5-9.htm">Bible</a> records the churches had schemes for needy widows right from the beginning. In the early Middle Ages, monasteries often provided for the needy, but Henry VIII famously <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_monasteries">closed them</a> and took their assets. A fair share of their assets ended up with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Russell,_1st_Earl_of_Bedford">high government officials</a> after the king’s takeover. Industry funds can also be seen to date back <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/friendly-society">at least to the Middle Ages</a>, where the trade guilds provided for members and their families who fell on hard times. Retail funds mainly began as <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=history+of+life+insurance">mutual life insurance companies</a> that began more than 200 years ago. In the 18th century, the East India Company and the Bank of England began <a href="https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/9224/1/McIlvenna%20PhD%20final.pdf">offering pensions</a>. These were at first discretionary based on need and loyalty, but later covered all employees. This idea then spread to other larger companies such railways and banks. As modern states developed the capacity to collect income taxes, it became feasible to provide comprehensive retirement benefits funded by central government. Beginning with <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/history/ottob.html">Germany in 1889</a>, developed countries began introducing universal national age pension arrangements. Unfortunately, a number of countries, such as <a href="https://www.uncdf.org/article/8799/governor-innovation-key-to-expanding-insurance-and-pension-coverage-in-png">Papua New Guinea</a>, still do not have the capacity to provide a universal safety net to cover older people. <h2>Retirement in Australia</h2> Three Australian states <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/publication/economic-roundup-centenary-edition-2001/article-3-towards-higher-retirement-incomes-for-australians-a-history-of-the-australian-retirement-income-system-since-federation">began schemes</a> in 1900, and the federal government provided a universal (but means tested) scheme from 1909. Most Australian retirees seem to enjoy a favourable standard of living. The <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/5-key-takeaways-from-the-retirement-income-review/">Grattan Institute</a> finds that the poorest 30% are, in fact, better off in retirement. Massive house price and rental inflation in the last 30 years, however, has gutted the living standards of those who don’t own their own homes. This gap in the safety net needs to be addressed. <h2>Retirement ages</h2> The Roman army model persists in some countries to this day: retirement from the US military is available <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/RL34751.pdf">after 20 years</a> of service. Retirement this early is obviously very expensive. The church scheme mentioned in the New Testament had a minimum age of 60, which is still the normal retirement age in many countries. The <a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2023/12/pensions-at-a-glance-2023_4757bf20.html">OECD</a> reports the average age of retirement in their 38 member countries is just under 64 for women, and just over 64 for men. Australians now qualify for the <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/who-can-get-age-pension?context=22526">age pension</a> at 67, which is slightly older than average. Retirement ages are, however, rising to allow for “population ageing”, a longer life expectancy and lower birth rates. Life expectancy at retirement age is the important number when calculating the cost of pensions. In ancient Rome it was about seven years and was <a href="https://www-cambridge-org.wwwproxy1.library.unsw.edu.au/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/30ED00A164475432670833C87D2F9E97/S2046164X00000405a.pdf/contributions_to_the_history_of_insurance_and_of_the_theory_of_life_contingencies_with_a_restoration_of_the_grand_pensionary_de_wits_treatise_on_life_annuities_concluded_from_no_vi.pdf">about the same</a> in Sweden in the middle of the 18th century. In Australia, the life expectancy of a 65 year old woman has risen from 12 years in 1895 to <a href="https://aga.gov.au/sites/aga.gov.au/files/2020-07/Australian%20Life%20Tables%202015-17%20v5.pdf">23 years on average</a>. <h2>Earnings-related pensions</h2> The <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/history/ottob.html">1889 German scheme</a> paid a minimum pension, plus an earnings-related component. Workers had a book for stamps for each week’s earnings. The Australian age pension has always just paid a minimum “liveable” amount. This has been subject to different means tests over time, but retirees have been able to supplement it with their own savings. Until 1987, only 40% of Australian employees were covered by employer sponsored schemes. Then in 1992, the <a href="https://www.apra.gov.au/superannuation-australia-a-timeline">Superannuation Guarantee Scheme</a> was introduced. Under this, employers were required to contribute 3% into all exployees’ super. The standard rate will rise to 12% in July next year. <h2>The future</h2> A growing ageing population will mean the Australian government and superannuation industry will need to adjust current support systems. <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2023-441613">Over the next decade</a>, about 2.5 million Australians will move from accumulation (where you’re building up your super) to join the 1.6 million already receiving super benefits. We can expect more people to be living into their nineties and needing pensions for life. One government <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-12/c2023-441613-dp.docx">priority</a> is to make lifetime pensions as much part of the Australian system as they are in <a href="https://www.mercer.com/en-au/about/newsroom/mercer-cfa-institute-global-pension-index-2024/">the rest of the world</a> And after 30 years of growing complexity in the rules covering superannuation, regulators are <a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/publication/superannuation-and-the-legislative-framework-for-financial-services-fsl11/">counting the cost</a>, and <a href="https://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/asic-targets-regulation-overhaul-286067.aspx">planning some simplification</a>. <hr /> This article is part of The Conversation’s retirement series, in which experts examine issues including how much money we need to retire, retiring with debt, the psychological impact of retiring and the benefits of getting financial advice. Read the rest of the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/retirement-series-2024-168372">here</a>.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/241121/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/anthony-asher-247115">Anthony Asher</a>, Associate Professor in the UNSW Business School, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/some-ancient-romans-got-to-retire-with-a-pension-at-42-but-retirements-changed-a-bit-over-the-centuries-241121">original article</a>.

Retirement Income

4 things ancient Greeks and Romans got right about mental health

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/konstantine-panegyres-1528527">Konstantine Panegyres</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> According to the World Health Organization, about <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression">280 million people</a> worldwide have depression and about <a href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/mental-health#tab=tab_2">one billion</a> have a mental health problem of any kind. People living in the ancient world also had mental health problems. So, how did they deal with them? As we’ll see, some of their insights about mental health are still relevant today, even though we might question some of their methods. <h2>1. Our mental state is important</h2> Mental health problems such as depression were familiar to people in the ancient world. Homer, the poet famous for the Iliad and Odyssey who lived around the eighth century BC, apparently <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL496/2003/volume.xml">died</a> after wasting away from depression. Already in the late fifth century BC, ancient Greek doctors recognised that our health partly depends on the state of our thoughts. In the Epidemics, a medical text written in around 400BC, an anonymous doctor <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL477/1994/volume.xml">wrote</a> that our habits about our thinking (as well as our lifestyle, clothing and housing, physical activity and sex) are the main determinants of our health. <h2>2. Mental health problems can make us ill</h2> Also writing in the Epidemics, an anonymous doctor <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL477/1994/volume.xml">described</a> one of his patients, Parmeniscus, whose mental state became so bad he grew delirious, and eventually could not speak. He stayed in bed for 14 days before he was cured. We’re not told how. Later, the famous doctor <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Galen">Galen of Pergamum</a> (129-216AD) <a href="https://dfg-viewer.de/show?tx_dlf%5Bdouble%5D=0&tx_dlf%5Bid%5D=http%3A%2F%2Fcmg.bbaw.de%2Fepubl%2Fonline%2Fmets%2Fsuppl_or_05_03.xml&tx_dlf%5Bpage%5D=1390&cHash=a0a715a587fa4e89a8839ccb310b0734">observed</a> that people often become sick because of a bad mental state: <blockquote> It may be that under certain circumstances ‘thinking’ is one of the causes that bring about health or disease because people who get angry about everything and become confused, distressed and frightened for the slightest reason often fall ill for this reason and have a hard time getting over these illnesses. </blockquote> Galen also described some of his patients who suffered with their mental health, including some who became seriously ill and died. <a href="https://dfg-viewer.de/show?tx_dlf%5Bdouble%5D=0&tx_dlf%5Bid%5D=http%3A%2F%2Fcmg.bbaw.de%2Fepubl%2Fonline%2Fmets%2Fsuppl_or_05_03.xml&tx_dlf%5Bpage%5D=1392&cHash=c93bf32c31975103b100e918bee893d9">One man</a> had lost money: <blockquote> He developed a fever that stayed with him for a long time. In his sleep he scolded himself for his loss, regretted it and was agitated until he woke up. While he was awake he continued to waste away from grief. He then became delirious and developed brain fever. He finally fell into a delirium that was obvious from what he said, and he remained in this state until he died. </blockquote> <h2>3. Mental illness can be prevented and treated</h2> In the ancient world, people had many different ways to prevent or treat mental illness. The philosopher Aristippus, who lived in the fifth century BC, used to advise people <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL486/1997/volume.xml">to focus on the present</a> to avoid mental disturbance: <blockquote> concentrate one’s mind on the day, and indeed on that part of the day in which one is acting or thinking. Only the present belongs to us, not the past nor what is anticipated. The former has ceased to exist, and it is uncertain if the latter will exist. </blockquote> The philosopher Clinias, who lived in the fourth century BC, <a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL486/1997/volume.xml">said</a> that whenever he realised he was becoming angry, he would go and play music on his lyre to calm himself. Doctors had their own approaches to dealing with mental health problems. Many <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=KPHaAAAAMAAJ&q=caelius+aurelianus+drabkin+on+acute+diseases&dq=caelius+aurelianus+drabkin+on+acute+diseases&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpqszXwuSGAxUjamwGHS1yCuoQ6AF6BAgHEAI">recommended</a> patients change their lifestyles to adjust their mental states. They advised people to take up a new regime of exercise, adopt a different diet, go travelling by sea, listen to the lectures of philosophers, play games (such as draughts/checkers), and do mental exercises equivalent to the modern crossword or sudoku. For instance, the physician Caelius Aurelianus (fifth century AD) <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=KPHaAAAAMAAJ&q=caelius+aurelianus+drabkin+on+acute+diseases&dq=caelius+aurelianus+drabkin+on+acute+diseases&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpqszXwuSGAxUjamwGHS1yCuoQ6AF6BAgHEAI">thought</a> patients suffering from insanity could benefit from a varied diet including fruit and mild wine. Doctors also advised people to take plant-based medications. For example, the herb <a href="https://www.psychiatriki-journal.gr/documents/psychiatry/30.1-EN-2019-58.pdf">hellebore</a> was given to people suffering from paranoia. However, ancient doctors recognised that hellebore could be dangerous as it sometimes induced toxic spasms, killing patients. Other doctors, such as Galen, had a slightly different view. He believed mental problems were caused by some idea that had taken hold of the mind. He believed mental problems could be cured if this idea was removed from the mind and <a href="https://dfg-viewer.de/show?tx_dlf%5Bdouble%5D=0&tx_dlf%5Bid%5D=http%3A%2F%2Fcmg.bbaw.de%2Fepubl%2Fonline%2Fmets%2Fsuppl_or_05_03.xml&tx_dlf%5Bpage%5D=1396&cHash=1697e4b73dd653092cd8398749f1989f">wrote</a>: <blockquote> a person whose illness is caused by thinking is only cured by taking care of the false idea that has taken over his mind, not by foods, drinks, [clothing, housing], baths, walking and other such (measures). </blockquote> Galen <a href="https://dfg-viewer.de/show?id=9&tx_dlf%5Bid%5D=http%3A%2F%2Fcmg.bbaw.de%2Fepubl%2Fonline%2Fmets%2Fsuppl_or_05_03.xml&tx_dlf%5Bpage%5D=1418">thought</a> it was best to deflect his patients’ thoughts away from these false ideas by putting new ideas and emotions in their minds: <blockquote> I put fear of losing money, political intrigue, drinking poison or other such things in the hearts of others to deflect their thoughts to these things […] In others one should arouse indignation about an injustice, love of rivalry, and the desire to beat others depending on each person’s interest. </blockquote> <h2>4. Addressing mental health needs effort</h2> Generally speaking, the ancients believed keeping our mental state healthy required effort. If we were anxious or angry or despondent, then we needed to do something that brought us the opposite of those emotions. This can be achieved, they thought, by doing some activity that directly countered the emotions we are experiencing. For example, Caelius Aurelianus <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=KPHaAAAAMAAJ&q=caelius+aurelianus+drabkin+on+acute+diseases&dq=caelius+aurelianus+drabkin+on+acute+diseases&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpqszXwuSGAxUjamwGHS1yCuoQ6AF6BAgHEAI">said</a> people suffering from depression should do activities that caused them to laugh and be happy, such as going to see a comedy at the theatre. However, the ancients did not believe any single activity was enough to make our mental state become healthy. The important thing was to make a wholesale change to one’s way of living and thinking. When it comes to experiencing mental health problems, we clearly have a lot in common with our ancient ancestors. Much of what they said seems as relevant now as it did 2,000 years ago, even if we use different methods and medicines today. <hr /> If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/232824/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/konstantine-panegyres-1528527">Konstantine Panegyres</a>, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, researching Greco-Roman antiquity, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-things-ancient-greeks-and-romans-got-right-about-mental-health-232824">original article</a>.

Mind

Tourist accused of causing over $8,000 in damages to iconic Roman statue

A 22-year-old German tourist has been accused of causing around €5,000 (A$8,400) in damages to the 16th-century Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria, Italy. Surveillance footage obtained by the police allegedly show the tourist - who has not been named - climbing over the protective barrier around the monument in the early hours of Monday morning as he posed for a photo on the statue. His two friends, who stood outside of the barrier, took the photos of him and they all fled the scene when the alarm went off, according to city authorities. "According to the investigators' reconstruction, after 1 o'clock this morning the tourist, in Piazza della Signoria with two other friends, climbed over the fence of the Neptune Fountain and climbed onto the edge of the pool," the statement read. "With a jump he then climbed onto the horse's leg, reaching the base of the carriage and, after having some photos taken by his friends, he climbed down," they added. "During the descent he placed his foot again on the hoof, damaging it. As soon as the alarm went off, however, the young man had already managed to escape with the two others." The tourist will be charged under the city penal code that prohibits the "destruction, dispersion, deterioration, disfigurement, soiling or illicit use of cultural or landscape assets." He has been detained in Florence and could be fined and banned from entering the city if convicted. Image: X (formerly Twitter)

Travel Trouble

Tourist busted for carving name into world's most famous Roman relic

An Irish tourist has run himself headfirst into trouble in Rome after he was reportedly caught carving his name - and his girlfriend’s - into the Colosseum. It is said that he had been making his carvings, which were six-centimetre-tall initials, with a metal point - possibly his keys - and gouged into a pillar of the 2000-year-old historic monument. The inscription, dedicated to himself and his partner, reportedly read “Ivan+Haley 23”. The Carabinieri police have claimed that the 32-year-old man was caught by private security at the World Heritage Site, and that social media videos of the incident alerted police to the alleged crime. The man has been accused of damaging the historical landmark, the Carabinieri confirmed to CNN, with the act considered to be a crime under Italian law. The Colosseum is one of the seven wonders of the modern world, and also a World Heritage Site, and Italy’s Minister of Culture has called for the tourist to be “identified and sanctioned”. “I consider it very serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility that a tourist defaces one of the most famous places in the world, the Colosseum, to engrave the name of his fiancée,” he tweeted, along with footage of the incident. “I hope that whoever did this will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws.” He later uploaded another video, accompanied by the scathing caption “Tourist scars the Colosseum.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Reputo gravissimo, indegno e segno di grande inciviltà, che un turista sfregi uno dei luoghi più celebri al mondo, il Colosseo, per incidere il nome della sua fidanzata. Spero che chi ha compiuto questo gesto venga individuato e sanzionato secondo le nostre leggi. <a href="https://t.co/p8Jss1GWuY">pic.twitter.com/p8Jss1GWuY</a> — Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) <a href="https://twitter.com/g_sangiuliano/status/1673318742057525248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2023</a></blockquote> If the man is convicted, he faces a penalty of at least €2,065 (~$3,370.7) and up to one year in prison, according to CNN. And it isn’t the first time the Colosseum has been defaced by those seeking to carve out their place in history, with a Russian tourist facing a fine of €20,000 for carving the letter “K”. It’s a serious offence in the hearts of many, with archaeologist Federica Rinaldi - who is responsible for the ancient amphitheatre - telling the publication that “the Colosseum, like any monument that represents the history of all of us, must be preserved and handed over to future generations.” “It is a monument that deserves everyone’s respect because it belongs to everyone, and it must remain so,” Rinaldi added. “Carving one’s initials, in addition to being a crime, seems to be a gesture of those who want to appropriate the monument. Better take a selfie!” Images: Twitter

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Some ancient Romans got to retire with a pension at 42, but retirement’s changed a bit over the centuries

4 things ancient Greeks and Romans got right about mental health

Tourist accused of causing over $8,000 in damages to iconic Roman statue

Tourist busted for carving name into world's most famous Roman relic