Comprehensive old-age pension systems correspond to the respective welfare regimes. There is no “one fits all” solution for erstwhile and/or current old-age pensions. The former (disability and merit) old-age pension concepts were taking account of the prewar economic and social conditions and in this respect, they are instructive even today. Current pension theory and policy puts distinguishing solidary pillars from insurance pillars in the foreground. The contribution analyses application of different concepts of old-age pensions under the different times and conditions. The methodology concentrates on the comparative analysis of the retirement systems in this direction, in particular on the role of the statutory retirement ages. We find that the current Czech public old-age pensions are extremely inconsistent with any standard retirement system and/or welfare regime. Under these conditions it is even not easy to improve any single important parameter of this system only, incl. the statutory retirement age, which is practically the only visible parameter of the Czech old-age pensions for their participants