Those of you who were hoping that - come your 65th birthday - you'd be able to put your slipper-clad feet up in front of the fire and suck on a Werther's Original while your faithful Labrador brought you the Daily Telegraph gardening section, are in for a nasty shock: you may be slaving away at your desk for a little longer than you thought:

We can only assume the Beeb has inside knowledge about secret UK government life-prolonging techniques which will allow us to extend our working lives over two millennia. If not, as our correspondent Chris Newland put it: "That's one way to solve the pension crisis." ®

Bootnote

Of course, the government has actually proposed extending the pensionable age to 68 from the year 2044, so prepare to enjoy those three remaining days of life between collecting the gold watch and popping your clogs.

Related stories

• BBC issues Belfast storm warning (19 June 2006)
• BBC presenter in psychedelic blouse outrage (2 June 2006)
• Updated The BBC, the lost tape and the 6-foot fridge (17 June 2004)