Latest Breaking News Online News Portal
The state pension age could be raised to 68 as soon as the end of the next decade, according to reports this week This would contradict previous estimates from the Government and will result in people waiting longer to get their payments. As a result, those approaching pension age are slamming the potential decision, warning “that extra year is going to be difficult”.
Organisations, such as Age UK, are urging the Government to reconsider bringing forward the state pension age.
One campaigner, 65, told the charity: “I worked my whole life expecting my pension age to be 65 – now I find I will have to wait until I am 66 to get it.
“That extra year is going to be difficult as I am a full-time carer for my wife who has Parkinson’s disease.
“Of course, she also expected to get her pension at 60 only to find that she had to wait until she is 66 too.”
READ MORE: ‘World beating’ Isa savings option yields 6.6% with more to come
Caroline Abrahams, the charity director at Age UK, shared her concerns over the reported acceleration to the state pension age rise.
She explained: “There is no justification for raising the state pension age at the moment, especially as we know that the people who will lose out the most are those unable to work due to ill health and caring responsibilities.
“Life is really difficult for many who are unable to work, but not yet old enough to receive their state pension. When you consider that our research found a third of households aged 55 to 64 have savings of less than £5,000 you can see how precarious their finances really are.”
The charity director warned that it is a “deeply scary” time for pensioners amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
DON’T MISS:
According to Age UK’s charity director, a longer wait to receive the state pension would be cruel to those most in need.
Ms Abrahams said: “You can understand why many in this situation put their heads down and just try to get by, and the idea that they might have to wait even longer before receiving their state pension is unconscionable and frankly rather cruel.”
What is the state pension age?
Once people reach a certain age, they will be entitled to retirement payments which they have contributed to via National Insurance contributions.
As it stands, the state pension age is sitting at 66 years old but it has been confirmed this will change in the coming years.
READ MORE: Recession fears continue despite UK economy growing
Prior to these latest, the age at which someone would get state pension payments would have been raised to 67 by 2028.
It should be noted that any increases to the retirement age are based on life expectancy data in the UK.
How could the state pension change?
According to a report from The Sun, the age at which someone gets this Government benefit could be raised again sooner rather than later.
Originally, proposals determined that the state pension age would be increased from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046.
However, reports suggest this could be brought forward to the late 2030s which would mean older Britons will have a longer wait to get their state pension.
This comes amid growing concerns over how the state pension will be funded and it appears postponing the retirement age is an option being considered by the Government.
A DWP spokesperson previously told Express.co.uk: “No decision has been taken on changes to the state pension age.
“The Government is required by law to regularly review the state pension age and the second state pension age review is currently considering, based on a wide range of evidence including latest life expectancy data and two independent reports, whether the rules around state pension age remain appropriate. The review will be published in early 2023.”
