I asked ChatGPT what Rachel Reeves will do in Budget - its answer will terrify pensioners

We just don't know where she'll strike. I've already asked artificial intelligence (AI) programme ChatGPT to run through her options to raise the £30billion experts say she needs. Now I've asked it to investigate who'll foot the bill, and the answer is clear.

According to AI, and a host of human tax experts too, Reeves can't raise that £30billion without touching one of the big three revenue raisers, income tax, national insurance (NI) or VAT.

Adding a penny to income tax would hit more than 30million Britons, including several million pensioners, but it would only raise £8billion. That's nowhere near enough.

A raft of other taxes will also have to rise and when ChatGPT investigated further, it became clear that pensioners are likely to pay the price.

That doesn't surprise me. Many on the left think the older generation has it cushy, with generous final salary pensions and heaps of property equity. ChatGPT flagged the same thinking.

The first likely hit is the annual Cash ISA allowance, which Reeves is expected to cut to just £10,000, to push savers into the stock market.

ChatGPT warned: "This could disproportionately affect pensioners who rely on cash savings for income."

It certainly will. Many older people rightly don't want to risk their lifetime savings in equities, favouring the reliable, predictable income that cash offers instead. Instead, most will shift the money to a standard savings account, and pay tax on the interest.

Next, ChatGPT highlighted the threat to pension savings. Currently, savers can take 25% of their pot tax-free, up to £268,275.

Pensions minister Torsten Bell, who is writing the Budget for Reeves, previously suggested reducing the cap to £100,000 (he did this while boss of left-wing think tank the Resolution Foundation).

For those relying on a significant lump sum, this would be a serious blow, reducing the tax-free capital they had counted on. The proposal is already causing panic.

The left hates the idea of inherited wealth. Last year, Reeves slapped inheritance tax (IHT) on unused defined contributions pension, which will come into force from 2027.

ChatGPT notes she could come back for more by axing the seven-year rule on IHT-free gifts, and replace them with a strict lifetime limit.

We can be sure that once set, that limit will never rise (IHT thresholds never do), gradually catching more of us year after year.

This will force pensioners planning to pass on wealth to revise their plans, and may panic some into making bad decisions.

Unbelievably, there's another risk facing pensioners. And again, the Resolution Foundation is behind it.

It's suggested cutting NI by 2p, then hiking income tax by the same amount. Why bother? To get pensioners.

That's because retirees don't pay NI but do pay income tax. ChatGPT flags this as a genuine risk that could further strain older households.

Until the Budget on November 26, none of this is certain. But AI highlights Labour's line of attack, with pensioners squarely in the firing line.

They've built up their wealth over a lifetime. And Reeves wants it.