Political parties are falling over themselves during the conference season to see which can offer the most money to old age pensioners.

It is a recognition of the fact that Britain is an old country and getting older all the time.

But with fewer working people to support pensioners, there are long-term limits to how much money they can receive in the State pension or company schemes.

Pensioners today, particularly those who have retired early, may in future be regarded as the lucky ones.

When pensioners make their case for more money, they form a collective image of charming rosy-cheeked old folk with twinkles in their eyes and a kindly word for the youngsters.

But the reality is often different. For every sweet old lady, there are several cantankerous old cretins like Victor Meldrew.

We, who are paying for their pensions, need to remind ourselves that most of these people made no provision whatsoever for their old age, despite working for much of their lives in times of full employment, when getting jobs was far easier than it is now.

Many of them may be poor, but they are rich compared with millions of ordinary people in the Thirties, before the days of the Welfare State.

They are moaning about the 75p pension rise this year, but it was low because the Government managed to keep inflation down unlike the Labour administrations of the past - which let it rip in a frightening manner.

Plenty of these pensioners have paid for their homes and don't have to worry about a mortgage.

You don't hear too much from the gnarled lips of these protesters about the many benefits they receive on top of the old age pension, including cheaper fares on buses and trains and help towards the cost of fuel bills and TV licences. That's because 'thank yous' are not often in their vocabulary.

Those in poor health have often only themselves to blame for their plight. Millions have smoked and drunk too much for years. They have eaten the wrong sort of food and taken so little exercise that they can hardly get out of their armchairs. And then they have the cheek to complain when this relentless abuse of their bodies catches up with them in old age.

When the pension ages were fixed, most men - and a fair number of women - didn't even reach it or else died shortly afterwards. I once had a neighbour who died the very week he retired at 65 after 50 years in the same job. Now they tend to live on to a great age and the financial cost to society is huge.

Luckily, the next generation of pensioners has seen what is happening now and on the whole is making better provision for old age.

As a result, in a few years' time, you will find a fitter and wealthier collection of oldies than there has ever been before.

There are plenty of pleasant and lively old people about. Some of them are among my best and closest friends and relations. They are having fun and enjoying themselves more in retirement than ever before in their lives.

But no one, least of all politicians, should fall into the trap of believing all the pensioner propaganda.

Just because they are ancient, they don't necessarily all need or deserve our help or our hard-earned cash.