[MargaretR]

I retired at age 51, and had a struggle to get it.

It happened 15 years ago when the civil service was being 'pruned'.
Over 50s were being offered early retirement with a pension enhancement which meant I could retire with the pension I would have got if I worked until age 58.
That pension was a final salary pension and 'index linked' - a type which few had then and none will have in the future.

The reason I struggled to get it was the fact that my job was not to be privatised to the public sector for another year, and so anyone doing that job for its final year would be in a dead end and likely to not be a civil servant after that. So they wanted me to carry on with it and accept that much less favourable fate.

I was ready for retirement, I had worked full time for 35 years and wanted the luxury of time on my hands, plus I could live comfortably, but not opulently, on the pension due.

It was the best option for me, but few people have that option, and to be forced into poverty and idleness when you don't want it is a horrific prospect.

The present law allows employers to shed their workforce at age 65 without regard to the effect it has on the individuals or on society as a whole.

That law will have to change eventually because the state cannot support pension payments to a growing percentage of oldies, but it is Sods Law that many will suffer until it does.