Letter to the Editor
The Gerontologist
Cite journal as: The Gerontologist Vol. 54, No. 1, 5
doi:10.1093/geront/gnt111
© The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.
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Advance Access publication October 1, 2013
Otto Von Bismarck Is Not the Origin of Old Age at 65
To the Editor:
It is a common belief that old age begins at 65.
Many gerontologists assume that the historical
German chancellor Otto von Bismarck is the origin
of this belief (Hayflick, 1994a; Hayflick, personal
communication, 2012). According to this saying,
Otto von Bismarck (1815–1895) engineered his
rise to power by making the astute observation that
his rivals, all federally employed, were older than
65 years. Acting on his observation, he in 1870
allegedly masterminded legislation, which would
force all public servants who reached the age of
65 to retire. After this maneuver, he ascended to
power with ease (Hayflick, 1994a, 1994b).
Albeit this story was cautiously considered to
be partly apocryphal (Hayflick, 1994a), it appears
that it has never been matched against historical
facts (Hayflick, personal communication, 2012).
This incited us to do a little research.
In brief, the story is unfounded. It was in 1889 that
Chancellor von Bismarck introduced a pension scheme
in Germany. Compliant with his proposal, the parliament, Reichstag, voted in favor of the law (Gesetz,
betreffend die Invaliditäts- und Altersversicherung,
1889) on May 24, 1889. After passing the second
chamber of parliament, Bundesrath, and bearing
the signature of Emperor Wilhelm II, the law was
proclaimed on June 26, 1889 (Gesetz, betreffend
die Invaliditätsund Altersversicherung, 1889). This
act determined the time of retirement at the age of
70 years (Gesetz, betreffend die Invaliditäts- und
Altersversicherung, 1889).
Public servants, however, were exempt from the
new law, as they were already covered by a separate
pension scheme and were to retire after 40 years of
Vol. 54, No. 1, 20145
service (Gesetz, betreffend die Rechtsverhältnisse
der Reichsbeamten, 1873). At that time, the life
expectancy in Germany (Bavaria) was 37.7 years
for newborn males and 41.4 years for newborn
females (Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik, 2010).
In 1889, Otto von Bismarck was very close to
the end of his long political career, and on March
18, 1890, he eventually resigned at the age of
74 years (von Bismarck, 1928). Nearly two decades after his death in 1898, the retirement age in
Germany was reduced, in 1916, to 65 years.
Bismarck is not a suitable origin for the common
belief that old age starts at 65 years.
Axel von Herbay, MD
Professor of Pathology
Faculty of Medicine, University of Heidelberg
Postfach 12 07 39, 69068 Heidelberg, Germany
E-mail: [email protected]
References
Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik. (2010). Weiterer Anstieg der
Lebenserwartung in Bayern [Further increase of life expectancy in
Bavaria]. Retrieved August 29, 2013, from https://www.statistik.bayern.de/presse/archiv/2010/236_2010.php.
Engelberg, E. (1993). Bismarck: Das Reich in der Mitte Europas [Bismarck.
The realm in central Europe] (p. 443). Munich, Germany: Deutscher
Taschenbuch Verlag.
Gesetz, betreffend die Invaliditäts- und Altersversicherung. (1889). In
Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt [Imperial Law Gazette of Germany] (pp.
97–144, Nr. 13). Retrieved August 29, 2013, from http://de.wikisource.
org/wiki/Gesetz,_betreffend_die_ Invalidit%C3%A4ts-_und_Altersver
sicherung.
Gesetz, betreffend die Rechtsverhältnisse der Reichsbeamten. (1873). In
Deutsches Reichsgesetzblatt (pp. 61–90, Nr. 10). Retrieved August
29, 2013, from http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Gesetz,_betreffend_die_
Rechtsverh%C3%A4ltnisse_der_Reichsbeamten. Last access August
29, 2013.
Hayflick, L. (1994a). How and why we age (p. 108). New York:
Ballantine.
Hayflick, L. (1994b). How and why we age (p. 319). New York: Ballantine.
von Bismarck, O. (1928). Gedanken und Erinnerungen [Thoughts and
reminiscenses] (pp. 650–654). Stuttgart, Berlin, Germany: Cotta.