Why pensioners are about to be handed a further windfall while workers pick up the bill

Covid has seen the young make huge sacrifices to protect the elderly yet a bigger financial burden is on the way, writes Rob Merrick

Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivers his Mansion House speech in the City of London on Thursday (AFP/Getty)

A key story of this century has been pensioners getting wealthier, with incomes leaping 26 per cent up to 2019, while staff wages have stagnated – but it seems we ain’t seen nothing yet.

A looming decision is poised to underline that trend and make it even harder for Boris Johnson to claim to be leading the party for the workers, with a second on the horizon also favouring the old.

Both will also lay bare the power of the “grey vote” – the one that delivered Brexit, remember – and the cowardice of politicians who fail to challenge it.