I HAVE to say that it is all right for the Government to expect us to work longer before we retire, but we don’t all have jobs in which we can sit down, even for some of the time.

I am 59 years old, and I can’t retire now till November 2013, when I will be 61 years, nine months and 14 days old, so they tell me.

I have always had jobs that involve being on my feet all the time – no desk jobs for me: I am not that clever. Now I can only work part time as I have rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.

I started work at about the age of seven or eight, doing lots of little odd jobs. Now that I am old and worn out the Government wants me to work even longer, and I am one of the lucky ones as all my workmates will have to work till at least 66 years old and some even longer.

The job that I do involves doing some things over and over again so at the end of most days I just go home drained of all energy. All I do is drop into a nice chair and put my feet up and try to recover ready for the next day at work till I can retire.

If the Government had made us pay a little bit more tax at the beginning, when we started our working life, we wouldn’t have noticed it, as most of us lived at home. We would have had a little less money, but at least when we were older we would not have to spend five days a week working in pain. Some days I just don’t want to get up in the morning as bed is the only pain-free place left.

I work for a lovely company who I know would reduce my hours even further if I wanted, but at the end of the day I am on my own and still have to pay the bills, which just keep on going up and up.

I can’t get any help, even from the doctors, as all the drugs they give me make my stomach bad, and I don’t work enough hours to get any benefits.

Perhaps others will disagree.

PEMBERTON JOHNS

Rye Close

Eynesbury