I hear a lot of talk about cross subsidies from the poor, who make the money to the rich who spend this. I get this from union people I spend time to. They represent the silent majority who do not have the money to get the big pensions, the swanky property or the lifestyle of the people for whom this article is for.

Let’s be clear, the Government has not been cutting pensions, they’ve been promoting pensions through a Pensions Act and passing of legislation for Collective Pensions (CDC) for every employer. Pensions have had a very good time since Labour retired to power. What’s been targeted by this Government is the abuse of the pension system by those rich folk who use it as a means to hand over accumulated wealth to those who benefit from their inheritance. The Government is targeting the rich who aren’t paying their due of national insurance by exploiting “salary sacrifice” on pension contributions. Joanne Noble has coined a term Hero, (high-earning, rich and old).

I don’t worry about heroes , I think myself one. But to suppose that we have a right to ignore the “pension” in what we got the tax and NI breaks for, is to miss the point of tax-breaks. They’re to encourage certain behaviours which work for society.

The payment of pensions as a stream of taxed income (with a side -pocket) of tax-free cash) is what heroes signed up for.

But the Times readership, who are mostly Heroes , have another idea about what pensions are for.

Unlike younger generations, a Hero’s focus is no longer on building wealth, but on capital preservation. Their financial plans are all about tax efficiency: how to best draw from a pension and how to pass down their wealth to younger family members. No more saving or scrimping, at long last, they’ve made it!

The new (well not so new now) Government is fixing its sights on ensuring the state pension is increased to meet the most basic needs of everyone, to ensure that pension pots are turned to pensions (or annuities) and to make sure that the rich do not cream off the majority of income tax, capital gains tax , inheritance tax and national insurance through exploiting loopholes.

The comments to Johanna Noble’s article includes a number of readers who are “contemplating going abroad”. Sorry but expatriate pensions with tax relief on contributions will be taxed in the UK on what comes out.

I’ve been a Henry, Henry Tapper and high earning and not rich yet. There will always be people richer than me that I can aspire to be. I can reckon this achievable by paying less tax so that I can be a Hero.

Forget it! Complaining about losing loopholes will not make a Henry into a Hero, it will make him (or her) into a sad old git ( a little soggy)