Fast forward to today when in a dramatic reversal, we learn that the UK is sinking into Greek-style austerity: the Telegraph reports that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and finance minister Jeremy Hunt plan to reveal a stealth tax raid on pensions later this month.

The pension lifetime allowance is set to be frozen for two more years, with a rise in line with prices delayed from 2025 to 2027, the newspaper said.

The allowance level has risen with prices in the past, but Sunak - as finance minister last year - froze the allowance until 2025. The move was forecast to bring the Treasury close to a billion pounds over the period, Telegraph said. And with the UK set to remain in a recessionary stagflation, with near-double digit CPI for the foreseeable future, UK retirees' purchasing power will be drained faster than Biden can syphon away oil from the US SPR.