STEPHEN Lewis's excellent article "Strikers outraged by pension switch" (March 29) accurately portrayed the mood of the council strike.

However, the front-page headline "Taken For A Ride" is more apt for the pension dispute by these workers.

Of course, they are right and those casting envious eyes in the private industry should not criticise the need to retire at a sensible age of 60. This should be the benchmark for retirement for all.

We all have been taken for a ride for too long by successive governments who have grabbed our hard-earned Nation Insurance taxes and have, over decades, squandered it until there is nothing left for a decent pension. When we note that these Government ministers all look forward to indexed-linked pensions, is it too much to ask for a decent retirement for the rest of us to aspire to?

The reason for the extended retirement age is due to us all living longer. Statistics can prove anything because if you take a stroll through any cemetery or crematorium, you will find that life expectancy hasn't changed that much. Today's plagues are road traffic accidents, smoking and drinking. When you think of all the money that is ploughed into pension funds, it should be reasonable to assume that an adequate pension has thus been acquired.

Retirement at 60 is one step towards a civilised society and one step towards the respect that the Third Age group should command.

Phil Shepherdson,

Chantry Close,

York.

Updated: 10:17 Tuesday, April 04, 2006