Once upon a time Britain's pension system was admired around the world. Now, it's in tatters and vast numbers of people face the grim choice of enduring a poverty-stricken future or working until they drop. What on earth went wrong?

In The Great Pensions Robbery award-winning journalist Alex Brummer ventures into the corridors of power to find out how politicians bent on penny-pinching, a civil service cowed into submission and individuals more interested in their careers than public service have all taken a part in fatally undermining a 100-year-old system. It's also a story of breathtaking hypocrisy, where those in charge have feather-bedded their own pensions while destroying those of ordinary people. And, as Brummer convincingly argues, we're only just starting to live with the appalling consequences.