Realism required on state pension age

The news in the Government's Spending Review that the age of receiving the state pension is to rise to 66 by 2020 did not comer as particular surprise to me.

I am of an age where this relates directly to me, but I don't feel it is a problem.

• We are all living longer, so it is logical that we should work longer.
• The country is in dire financial straits, so it is logical that the state can't afford to pay our pensions so readily.
• The are more older people now than ever before, so it is logical that the stae can't afford to pay our pensions so readily.
• We are all fitter and healthier in our 50s and 60s now than ever before, so it is logical to work longer.

It probably depends on what work you do.

Personally I feel that I will be more than happy to continue my current work beyond when I turn 66, but I can understand that some manual workers may not feel the same way.

Apparently in France they are disgusted by the idea that the state pension age there will rise from 60 to 62.

Hmmm, where is "Brussels" when you need a bit of European harmony? The French need to take a dose of realism.

We need understanding from banks as the cuts bite

The government spending review or "The Cuts" were outlined by Chancellor George Osborne yesterday. They will undoubtedly mean big changes for the way many people run their lives, and it will be several years (at least) before the good times are back.

This is not the place to try and apportion blame, but maybe we all got used to too much of the good times - borrowing and spending money on the never never ... and then the never never came to an end. It easy to blame bankers, and say we should never have bailed them out, but modern society cannot exist without banks and the services they provide. When the good times were good, we didn't try and rein them in. That only happened when things went bad.

Now they are back in profit, however, I do think it is time for the banks to give something back to the people who bailed them out. How about these for starters:

• better, cheaper service
• reasonable loan terms
• better interest rates on our savings
• In general: an understanding that times are bad for us, and they might like to help us this time.