A typically cynical obituary from The Telegraphy for Buster Martin appeared last week.

I’m not sure if I care about whether he really was as old as he said or not, but he was clearly working into his 90s. His work ethic was simple, he said he would give up “when they put me in a wooden box”.

A lot of people spend a lot of time thinking about retirement. And I think it’s wrecking our society.

It used to be the case that everybody - and I mean everybody irrespective of social status - worked until near their dying day. When the state pension was introduced it was expected most people would have a year or two before they died to put their affairs in order. No more.

Now people are expecting long retirements. They aim for early retirement if they can get it, and expect to spend a minimum of a decade doing nothing. Most will get to spend more than a decade doing nothing.

People are so hooked on this idea that they give up a significant chunk of their income today to place into pension funds and accept lower salaries in order for employer contributions to be boosted.

The problem is, when most people get there, they realise the system is broken. They will need to purchase an annuity, which will pay out less than they might have hoped. And within a few months they will realise that their lives are now dedicated to waiting for the inevitable decay of their minds and bodies and ultimate death.

What Buster Martin did, I would argue, was more valuable. He worked. He shared his experiences with his colleagues, and he enriched their lives and his own. His employers pointed out that society had got it wrong by writing off more elderly workers, and I can’t agree more: the fact that so many people with so much experience are sat on the sidelines unable to contribute to our economy troubles me. And what’s more: surely they’re bored and all that sitting around doing relatively little is bad for them?

Some point to the fact they act as free/cheap childcare, others to the volunteer sector as to where their utility lies, but I am convinced that they would be happier, the economy would be improved, and we would live in a better World if people just gave up on the idea of retirement and worked until they were physically unable.