When I read the news on the BBC site, 'Pension Jackpot for Baby Boomers' (link at the foot of this page) which talks about a pension bonus for baby boomers, I must admit I had mixed feelings.
Of course we wish our elders well and I am sure we all want the best for the elderly and wish them all, especially our own parents, good fortune in their old age.
But there is something slightly annoying about hearing of a bumper pension payout for baby boomers when just weeks ago, we were hearing that the retirement age is going up and would be 68 if you are my age (born 1974).
In my opinion, the right way to go when it comes to such a fundamental thing as how many years in life you need to work, is for successive generations to try and reduce that number, not increase it. Of course it wouldn't be mandatory - anyone who wants to work should be able to.
I think that retirement age should be held as a sacred point in time that government have no right or duty to play with. Any government who stands up and says that we must work more years is taking the mickey. Asked if I would prefer to not have HS2 built, or to have to work another 12 months in my life to pay for it, I would choose 'not have HS2 built'.
I think 'change of retirement age' is a lever that can only be pulled in one direction - younger. Except perhaps, in the event of war or some other catastrophe which requires us to all muck in.
Wouldn't it be great if we targeted a retirement age of 60 rather than letting this slip to 70. I see nowhere on a manifesto where they are saying "vote for me and we'll squeeze a few more years tax out of you".
Politicians would say a retirement ago of 60 can't be done. I would challenge that and say yes it absolutely can be - you just have to prioritise dealing with an aging society properly. Thinking that a solution to an aging population is trimming a few years off retirement is crazy thinking. At any point in time, discoveries can be made which increase life span, and then what are you going to do, increase retirement age even more?
Increasing life span and not increasing our age of retirement are 2 sides of the same coin. That is our coin to play and not for politicians to take away.