Mark Knutson (mark-knutson.com) writes:

'I have gotten a lot of letters from people who liken our Social
Security system to a Ponzi scheme. I wholeheartedly agree with this
characterization. Like early participants in any pyramid scheme, those
who have retired,or retire today, will receive benefits several times
greater than their actual contributions and the investment income
thereof. Secondly, Social Security is managed by a group of people who
are by and large con artists: politicians. And most significantly,
when my generation becomes eligible for Social Security, there will
not be enough working people to support us, the bubble will burst, and
we will receive benefits far less than the amount we contributed. Of
course, being a mandatory government program, it is by definition
legal, and we do not have the choice Ponzi's investors had on whether
to participate in the fraud.'

Knutson, of course, is referring to the US but what is the situation
in the UK and can it be quantified?