Cost of living pressures continue to squeeze the over-60s

When I was a cub reporter, writing for the paper of record at a time when the economy was booming and weekly personal finance pages numbered more than two dozen, the phrase ‘hardy perennial’ was bandied about on a regular basis.

Like the plants which reappear year after year, in this context ‘hardy perennial’ referred to the type of money article sure to appeal to readers, focusing on a topic which never went out of fashion.