Young people in the UK are facing the prospect of working "until they drop" under controversial plans announced by the British government to raise the retirement age.
People now in their 40s will not get the state pension until they are 68, while those in their 30s will have to wait another year until they are 69, it was disclosed.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said there has been no new evidence to show that people were living any longer since the last time the Chancellor increased the state pension age.
"Yet today's young workers are being told they must work until they drop. There are already massive inequalities in the state pension, with a woman in Corby expected to receive £67,000 less than someone in East Dorset due to widening gap in life expectancy. This pension divide will get worse as a result of today's announcement.
"However many decades they work hard and contribute, tomorrow's 69-year-olds will find themselves being sent for the future version of Atos assessments if they can no longer work."
Ms O'Grady said barely half of all men are able to work beyond the current state pension age, so raising it further will simply prolong an "agonising limbo" between their last job and their state pension.
"This has nothing to do with dealing with unexpected extra pension costs but is part of a long term attack on the welfare state and the dismantling of our national insurance system."
Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB said: "Raising the state pension age even further will be a devastating blow for hard working people everywhere.
"Ordinary people do not want to work until they drop and common sense tells you that there just won't be the jobs around anyway.
"Many occupations, especially involving manual work, simply cannot be sustained to age 70.
"What's more, the younger generation are already jobless and debt laden, now they see a bleak retirement as well."
Mr Kenny said the move will also have "serious unforeseen consequences" for occupational pensions as many schemes are linked to the state pension age or have bridging payments up to state pension age, which would now be significantly more expensive.
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: "Already the government is insisting that our members work longer and pay more for a pension scheme that offers less money when we retire.
"It is hardly a sign of a prosperous society when emergency services are trimmed and cut to the detriment of the workforce and the peril of the public."
Andrew Hunter of jobs search engine Adzuna, said: "The Government's announcement that younger workers will have to work until they are 69 follows recent bad news for graduate jobseekers, dealing a second heavy blow to those new to the world of employment.
"Finding that first job is already a huge challenge. Nearly half of recent graduates are currently being pressured into opting for non-graduate roles, as a result of a stagnant entry-level job market. These new graduates will now have to work the longest, at the same time as suffering from higher-than-ever student debt and low wages."