The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Labour government face mounting criticism over plans to increase the state pension age to 68, with a new report labelling the move "unfair" and revealing that a majority of those most affected oppose the change.
Under current legislation, the state pension age is set to rise to 68 between April 2044 and April 2046, affecting anyone born after April 5, 1977. However, the Treasury has informed the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the Government’s spending watchdog, that its "current policy position" is to bring this timeline forward by seven years, to between 2037 and 2039.
Majority of Over-60s View Rise as Unfair
New research from the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement found that three in five people aged 60 to 65 now believe their own State Pension age is unfair. Furthermore, seven in ten people in that age group think the threshold should remain unchanged.
The proposed acceleration could force around five million people currently aged 49 to 55, born between 1971 and 1977, to stay in work for a year longer than expected before qualifying for the state pension.
Women Disproportionately Affected
Catherine Foot, director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, said: "As our population ages, the country is faced with fiscal challenges that involve difficult trade-offs. The State Pension is often central to these debates, but our research shows how strongly people feel about changes to the State Pension age."
"A majority of those most immediately affected by the ongoing increase to 67 believe the change is unfair and do not support further rises linked to life expectancy. This is particularly true for women, who are significantly less likely than men to have adequate private retirement savings," she added.
Call for Public Involvement in Reforms
Foot emphasised the need for policymakers to consider the public’s views: "As policymakers consider the future of the State Pension and wider pensions adequacy, it is vital that the public’s views are heard, alongside expert perspectives. Deliberative democracy - such as Citizens’ Assemblies - can help people engage with these complex social and fiscal issues, giving policymakers a better understanding of the priorities that matter most to ordinary people."
"Integrating citizen participation into future pension reforms could help support more sustainable long-term decision-making and reduce resentment around further reforms," she concluded.
The report also warns that if further increases to the State Pension age are considered, policymakers will need to ensure people have sufficient opportunity to prepare, and should also take action to minimise the impact on those with lower savings and fewer options to extend their working lives.
