Pensioner, 69, who identifies as a 45-year-old, fights to legally change age

The real-life Benjamin Button? Emile Ratelband (pictured in front of court) is battling to reduce his age by 20 years.

A 69-year-old Dutchman is battling to legally reduce his age by 20 years so he can get more work and attract more women on Tinder.

Emile Ratelband argues that if transgender people are allowed to change sex, he should be allowed to change his date of birth because doctors said he has the body of a 45-year-old.

The motivational speaker, a media personality in the Netherlands, is suing his local authority after they refused to amend his age on official documents, according to the Daily Mail.

Mr Ratelband's case has now gone to a court in the city of Arnhmen in the eastern Dutch province of Gelderland.

He was born on 11 March, 1949, but says he feels at least 20 years younger and wants to change his birth date to 11 March, 1969.

Mr Ratelband, who has converted to Buddhism, said: "I have done a check-up and what does it show? My biological age is 45 years.

"When I'm 69, I am limited. If I'm 49, then I can buy a new house, drive a different car. I can take up more work.

"When I'm on Tinder and it says I'm 69, I don't get an answer. When I'm 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position.

"Transgender people can now have their gender changed on their birth certificate, and in the same spirit there should be room for an age change."

The Dutchman said he is discriminated against because of his age on a daily basis.

He complains that companies are reluctant to hire someone the age of a pensioner as a consultant.

And he says his move would also be good news for the government as he would be renouncing his pension until he reaches retirement age again.

The judge said that he had some sympathy with Mr Ratelband as people could now change their gender which would once have been unthinkable.

But the court said there would be practical problems in allowing people to change their birth date and it would mean legally deleting part of their lives.

The judge asked Mr Ratelband about the status of his early years, from 1949 to 1969, if his official birth date was put back.

"For whom did your parents care in those years? Who was that little boy back then?," the judge asked.

The court is due to deliver a written ruling within four weeks.