And so the government is considering plans to change pension payments for private sector employers so that their annual pension increase will be in line with the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation, rather than Retail Price Index. It means of course that pensioners will be worse off in future. And if you are a baby boomer, that probably means you. Is this another of those cons, an attempt to save money by stealth?

The Telegraph was not impressed, and said: “Experts warned that any change would trigger a major revolt and expose ministers to expensive and damaging legal challenges from pension scheme trustees.”

Well, you may think student protests at their changes in tuition fees are bad, but you wait and see how their elders will react if their pensions are hit. Typically, the CPI measure of inflation is lower than the RPI measure. In fact, according to Hargreaves Lansdown, based on their assumptions over the likely difference between the CPI and the RPI index, someone who retires at 60 and dies at 80 will see their pension payments fall by 25 per cent over their retirement as a result of the switch.

Actually, what the government is trying to do seems a touch dodgy. It wants to allow companies to change pension agreements which currently stipulate payments will rise in tandem with the RPI, and in trying to introduce such a change the government enters a legal minefield.

But let’s assume, for one moment, the changes are enforced; what then?

Of course the baby boomers will be furious. But, you know what, the alternatives are limited.

The fact is, the UK, along with the rest of Europe, the US, Japan, South Korea, and eventually China, is sitting on a demographic time bomb.

Baby boomers’ pensions can be funded in one of three ways. We suddenly see a miracle new technology, which leads to a rapid increase in productivity per head. The retirement age goes up and up. Or pension payments are reduced.

And once rioting students realise that they are the ones who will have to fund the retirement of the baby boomers, those very same people who are set to enter the workforce with massive debts in order to enjoy an education that some of their parents received for free, well then, they won’t be happy.

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