ABSTRACTThe nature of public feelings about income support for the elderly is examined in survey data and theoretical debates about this are considered. New public opinion poll evidence on compulsory retirement and various aspects of retirement income policy shows strong public support for abolition of means tests and for more public spending on the elderly. The complexity and potential inconsistency of attitudes is examined here in detail for the first time. A “public demand” model of retirement income policy is rejected and the development of policy as a corollary of industrial relations policy is argued. The public opinion opposed to means tests but the electoral support for constrained public expenditure puts party policy makers in a difficult dilemma. Strong positive attitudes to support for the elderly indicate the continuity of the “ethical” core that led to the first establishment of age pinions at the beginning of the century. The situation is, however, fluid as industry superannuation brings more workers into the bounds of the means test and as more wealthier elderly feel the conflict of expenditure constraint applied to themselves. Both sides of the political spectrum experience dilemmas in their policies vis‐a‐vis pub