The state pension rose by 4.8% on April 6, thanks to the triple lock. But something else also increased: the age at which it can be claimed. From April 6, the state pension age will begin creeping up until it hits 67 by 2028. Anyone now aged 65 or under will be caught in the net. Here's a full list of delayed retirement dates. Inevitably, this is all about saving money. The total state pension bill is heading towards £150billion a year. It will continue to rise as the population ages, funded by a shrinking band of workers.

The retirement age hikes will not stop here. Ministers are examining plans to increase the state pension age to 68 and it could go even higher. The direction of travel looks set and it's pretty relentless. Millions will wait longer for their pension, and pay more to get it.

As a result of the latest hike, millions will have to keep paying National Insurance (NI) for one year longer. Anyone still working and earning above the £12,570 personal allowance will be hit. Yet they won't get a penny extra state pension in return.

To qualify for the maximum new state pension, workers need 35 years of qualifying NI contributions. Even once they've got that, if they keep working they have to keep paying NI. All the way to state pension age. But they won't receive any extra pension in return.

Insurer Royal London calculates that an extra year will cost a worker on £100,000 more than £4,000. A £50,000 earner pays just over £3,000, while someone on the National Living Wage still loses more than £800. Employers will be hit too, with bills running into thousands. It's a stealthy extension of the tax burden at the very end of working life.

It's not just down to Labour and Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The Tories did the same. Politicians say they have no choice, given the cost pressures. 1950s Waspi women are fighting for compensation over moves to increase the state pension age for women from 60. Yet younger generations face the prospect of working to 68 or beyond.

So far, Waspi women have not received a penny in compensation. I can't imagine anyone else will either.

The state pension age is slated to rise again, to 68 between 2044 and 2046. But that process could be brought forward by seven years, to start in 2037. There's constant pressure on the state pension triple lock too.

But for now, hiking the state pension age does the lifting. The problem is that many simply cannot work into their late 60s, as ill health and physical strain make it impossible. The cost keeps rising, the goalposts keep moving, and the triple lock remains under constant pressure. No wonder pensioners feel ripped off.