So, they want us to work longer.

Many (rightly so) feel outraged, and this is just the tip of the iceberg...

What struck me is why was not this question asked: "what non-public spending can we cut to bring the age of retirement DOWN".

So many funds are pumped into defence, but what is the point in defending a broken country with inhabitants that only live to work?

Come on - we have technology, computers and all the other c$$p we were told would make life easier and now it turns out that after spending so much on it that it did not help at all!

Personally I would do without: digital tv, internet, funded wars abroad and empty busses to have a better quality of life and spend time with my family while we are all young enough to enjoy life.

Yes, we need forward thinking, but why not forward think to make life worth looking forwards to for the presently crushed and depressed public?

RT

I agree - but the answer is in your own hands. Set up your own business. Then you will be poor but happy - and you say in your post that you can do without all the the material things.

By being self employed it allows you to choose your hours - allows time to see family - and also you decide how much tax you are going to pay because it is based on your earnings.

When you get to 60 you can retire if you have put enough savings away. Though you can continue working part time until you are 80 to keep yourself fresh and alive.

The State Pension is so small - that this is a red herring in any case. Most people who rely on the State pension are in extreme poverty. They dont tell you this when you are in your 20s or 30s. By the time you hit your 40s you start considering pensions by which time you have wasted much income on partying and activities with no real benefit.

If anyone on here had invested in GOLD last year when I told you to do so - when GOLD was around 750 dollars an ounce - then you would now be sitting on GOLD worth nearly 1040 dollars an ounce today. You could have invested and made a massive profit. It may yet go up to 2000 dollars depending on the oil and recession.

Sadly I have no savings - though I do have a decent pension plan with the PRU - so I could not take advantage of my own advice.

Take control of you life - dont moan about politicians except for their stupidity. We can all live the life we want if we are prepared to give up material wealth and live on the basics. Anyone with a garden should be able to be relatively self sufficient. Get a water meter - then use water butts for most of your water - sign up for a cheap internet service with SKYPE and save money on phones. Make a SOLAR PANEL and save money on electricity. If you have the time free from being self employed then there is no reason why you cant have a better lifestyle than when you slave away and pay 50% of it in tax back to Mr Darling to give to the bankers.

Most people pay over £200 a month in interest to banks. Simple - dont have loans or credit cards. Then you have an extra £200 a month to spend on yourself - guess what !!! that alone is the single biggest saving you can make for yourself.

EASY CREDIT is the work of the DEVIL BANKs. They want to lock you into OWEING money to them. You buy something and then pay again for it maybe up to 10 times over the life of a credit card or loan. No wonder the RICH GET RICHER and the POOR get POORER.

Basically anyone who buys on CREDIT is a total loser. They have to have an IQ of less than normal. They are literally walking into shops and paying 10 times more for products than someone who pays with cash. Crazy - but they still do it !!!