>>In the UK the government has just issued pensioner bonds...

A lot of the elderly have cash from sale of the vastly inflated family home or other assets that benefited from huge inflation. Many rely on interest income to bolster their standard of living in retirement though it is notable that to get the best 4% rate, interest is not actually paid out for 3 years and shorter periods may not be as good as an ISA because the interest is taxed. In any case, these bonds will help the elderly to avoid dipping too deeply into their capital, allowing them to preserve a larger inheritance for their own descendants. Whether the benefit is symmetrical for the taxpayer is less clear.

>>What young people struggling with unpaid internships, large students loans and the prospect of not retiring till 70+ made of that I don't know.

As long as you anticipate an inheritance, the "I'm OK Jack" principle probably applies. Otherwise it's probably another systematic separation between the inheriting Haves and the Have Nots. Even the most vigorous and eager immigrants from places like Viet Nam are starting to perceive a far thicker glass ceiling that is harder and harder to penetrate to join the ranks of the successful.