I’m thinking of applying to become 67.

I’d never thought of it before, but then I read about the man aged 69 who has asked a court to reduce his age by 20 years.

The 69-year-old man told a tribunal in the Netherlands that he wants to legally alter his official date of birth in the same way that transgender people can change sex.

‘I feel young, I am in great shape and I want this to be recognised because I feel abused, aggrieved and discriminated against because of my age,’ said the man, who has struggled to find love on the dating website Tinder.

Well I’d like to do the same, only I’d like to add on a decade. My official retirement date is November 30, 2027. By that time I will be aged 66 and ten months.

So, adding ten years will put me in full retirement mode, leaving me free to do what I want, when I want.

I’ve already made plans. My colleague is on a mission to visit every county in the UK and, along with my husband - who is fully on board with the add-on-a decade idea - I’d like to do the same.

I’d also like to spend more time with my family and friends. And I can’t wait to have time to organise all the stuff that gets set aside when you are working, like sorting out many years’ worth of photographs and other bits and pieces.

Were I to become 67 now, I could do all this and more.

I realise that, given the choice, most people would wish to be younger. But, unlike Dutchman Emile Ratelband, I have no desire to shed a few years.

I don’t envy younger people one bit. Their lives appear to be built around social media. I find the whole thing unsettling. I’d be perfectly happy never logging into Facebook again. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat - I can happily live without them.

Were I to reinvent myself as a much younger person I’d have to bluff my way through, pretending I knew my way around the latest iPhone and I’d have to suffer the indignity of having fewer than 8 billion Facebook friends.

I don’t want my daily life to revolve around how many ‘likes’ I receive on my profile picture (for the record, I’ve got 12). And, vitally, I’d have to keep explaining why I looked so much older.

I’m all for making a quick transition to my golden years. I like the idea of waking up and thinking “What shall I do today?” every day.

Not so long ago I would have been on track to retire in two years’ time. For decades women could give up work and claim their pension at 60, with men having to wait until 65. This clearly wasn’t fair, particularly as women live longer.

Now retirement age is the same for both sexes, which is right and proper, but it has also risen dramatically, and for people in my age group, stands at almost 67. Given that the older we get, the more prone we are to health problems, this is far too long to wait. It should be no more than 65.

But if, on paper, I can jump to 67, I will have far more chance of enjoying a decent, lengthy retirement, in relatively good health.

In the days of ageism, especially in the workplace, the idea provides food for thought. But, sadly, I can’t see Ratelband’s application being successful. It would open the floodgates to anyone unhappy with their lot, and has the potential to throw up all kinds of unsavoury behaviour, especially on the dating scene.

And, I question whether he has properly thought it through - does he realise that he won’t be able to claim his pension for such a long time.