Grumpy old woman

This morning I was listening to the Today programme on Radio 4. George Osborne was cock a hoop about savings made from the welfare budget, savings made by extending the pensionable age. Now I happen to be one of those women. When I started work at 17 I expected to retire at 60. It seemed a lifetime away and it was. Over the years I have been one of the cohort of women who worked because they wanted to and then because they needed to. Relishing independence and women's lib, we took opportunities to try and build careers, looking for equality with men. As the cost of living rose, house prices hit the roof more than once, and childcare became a commercial business. So many of us had no choice but to work to provide security for ourselves and our families. I guess I knew that my state pension age would alter from 60 to 63 some years ago. Suddenly in 2011 that changed to 65 and a half. Talk about moving the goal posts. I have signed the online petition. I do recognise that I have advantages that others may not have, in that I own my house, but I have no professional or occupational pensions. I am divorced. No opportunity to build up a pension pot in response to these changes. No bus pass at 60, though I can buy a senior Railcard. Unfortunately society and employers aren't dealing with this very well. Grandchildren tend to arrive once you are in your sixties. Parents become elderly and need more support. Women in my situation are chasing jobs that should be for the young ones who need to work and establish themselves. Perhaps there would be less of a care crisis for the elderly if my cohort of women weren't still in employment. And then there's the issue of part time, low paid work as skills don't get updated. In my scheme of things five and a half years worth of a state pension, plus a bus pass, represents a substantial amount of money. I have never earned a lot, but I have kept working. I certainly don't want to hear the Chancellor crowing about how much he has saved by taking away more than five years of my pension and everyone else's in this situation. I realise I have become a grumpy old woman!