As important events go, it was never likely to be on a par with that monumental, jump-out-of-the-bath ‘eureka’ moment which led to the establishment of Archimedes Principle.

This rule of physics, you will recall from your days studying science at school, says that the upward buoyant force exerted on a body immersed in fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid that the body displaces.

Archimedes is said to have discovered this while bathing and was so delighted, he immediately took to the streets naked, declaring ‘Eureka! Eureka!’ — I’ve found it, I’ve found it.

While few people have dispensed with a towel and raced along the road letting the world know that the penny has finally dropped, there is little doubt that following a steady flow of reminders, speeches, newspaper articles, online blogs, magazine pieces, radio interviews and TV programmes, the vast majority are now aware the state is unlikely to support them in their dotage.

Though the realisation has been painfully slow at times, it has gradually been acknowledged that responsibility for funding retirement has shifted from the state and on to our own shoulders.

This column has long maintained that receipt of a state pension should be considered a bonus. It is easier (and more likely) to assume it will not arrive. The reason is simple: we are living considerably longer than our forbears.

According to actuaries Hymans Robinson, in 1909, only nine per cent of adult life was spent in receipt of a state pension. By the end of last year, that figure had more than tripled, to 31 per cent.

The firm then referred to the science fiction-sounding ‘high life expectancy variant’, a statistical tool employed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), when calculating that today, anyone aged 30 can expect to work until they are at least 72.

Already, people aged under 52 know that they are unlikely to retire for at least another 15 years, while those aged 46 or under can expect to work for a minimum of 22 more years.

Life expectancy has been rising for more than three centuries, thanks to a combination of improved public health, rapid economic growth (for most of the period) and advances in medical science.

Between the years 1800 and 2000, life expectancy at birth rose from approximately 30 years to a global average of 67. In westernised countries, the average was nearer to 75.

A 45-year increase in life expectancy spread over just 200 years is nothing short of dramatic.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, most people died from infectious diseases following a very short illness. Today, chronic disease, often with a protracted course, accounts for the majority of deaths.

The process may be less dramatic, but it continues today as we gradually reduce risks to our survival. As a consequence, more people are living longer and well-intentioned social provisions, particularly state pensions, are clearly inadequate to cope.

Indeed, it could be argued that we are faced with an economic version of Archimedes Principle. For every retired person claiming state pension, there’s a displacement of cash, equal to the sum claimed as pension, occurring within the state’s budget.

The situation cannot continue indefinitely.

Over the past six months it seems that perhaps a critical mass of people are, at last, finally addressing the likelihood that most of them will live to a ripe old age.

While enjoying great longevity beyond our ancestors’ wildest dreams might be considered an enormous privilege, the harsh fact is, it will only become so if we, and not the state, can afford to fund our old age.