I GOT quite a surprise at work this week. Someone in HR inquired if I’d sorted out the paperwork for our company pension scheme. Oh how I laughed. I’ve barely got to grips renewing my car tax, never mind anything else. Also, ever the optimist, I explained that hopefully I’ll have made my millions by the time I’m 35. Oh how she laughed.

The notion of drawing a pension feels light years away. Like many twenty somethings I’ve hardly given it a second thought.

This week Gorgeous George, complete with slimline physique from his dust and watercress diet, unveiled the biggest shake up in pensions for a generation.

The annuity-based model has seemingly been rendered obsolete because the baby boomers can now access their pension pots in one go. Everyone over 50 with savings is onto a winner. Except, perhaps, if you’re an insurance company director who saw 50% wiped off the value of their shares as Osborne unveiled his latest wheeze.

Make no mistake, if George wanted a legacy, he’s just found it. It’s really not a bad policy, far from it, but let’s not pretend it was anything but a bribe for disaffected grey voters in middle England. While his new haircut might make him look a bit daft, George understands who he needs to be influencing. The UKIP threat cannot be ignored and the Tories need a vote winner. Throwing money at pensioners is a surprisingly sound strategy for election success.

That leaves a problem for the rest of us, though. Osborne’s giant rabbit out of a hat doesn’t help the young or the poor. But do the Tories care? Everyone knows the under 30s won’t vote Conservative. And those on the breadline certainly don’t. Cameron has all but given up winning votes outside the South East. In some northern constituencies you could parade a pig painted red through the streets and it would still get elected ahead of the Tory.

My generation may well be left scratching their heads after this latest budget. What’s in it for us? Not a lot, actually. I still can’t afford to buy a shoebox-sized apartment and my student loan is still putting a huge dent in my pay packet. However, all is not lost. At least I’m saving a pound on every 100 pints I drink and Thursday night bingo’s marginally cheaper. Every cloud and all that…