DWP State Pension Age Increases to 68, Starting with Rise to 67 from April 2026
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced a significant change to the state pension age, confirming it will increase to 68. This major shake-up begins with the threshold rising from 66 to 67 starting April 6, 2026, affecting both men and women born on or after that date in 1960.
Gradual Increase Timeline
From April 2026, the state pension age will begin its gradual increase to 67, with full implementation expected between 2026 and 2028. Individuals born between April 6, 1960 and March 5, 1961 will reach their state pension age at 66 years plus a specified number of months, rather than exactly at 66. This phased approach marks the first step toward the ultimate goal of raising the pension age to 68.
Parliamentary Discussion and Independent Review
During a recent Whitehall update on March 18, Labour committee chair Debbie Abrahams questioned the timing of an ongoing independent review into state pension age conducted by Suzy Morrissey. "Suzy Morrissey is currently conducting her review into state pension age and she's due to report in the spring," Abrahams noted, adding that "the spring is quite a wide time frame."
Labour Party minister Torsten Bell, MP for Swansea, responded that the review is examining the framework for determining the appropriate state pension age level. "The independent review we've asked them to consider the framework for thinking about the right level for the state pension age," Bell stated. He emphasized the statutory requirement for the Secretary of State to conduct this review, with completion mandated by March 2029.
Addressing Inequality Concerns
Abrahams raised important concerns about how pension age changes affect different socioeconomic groups. "At all levels of the income spectrum, life expectancy has increased as has healthy life expectancy. But it has increased much more slowly for low-income households in particular groups of the country," she explained, citing her constituency in Oldham where life expectancy has actually fallen.
Bell acknowledged these distributional effects, stating that while longevity increases have historically driven pension age adjustments since the early 1990s, policymakers must carefully weigh the consequences. "I think what sometimes flips too easily is being relaxed about that, not weighing that," he remarked, referencing the 2011 changes where he believed ministers "weren't weighing those consequences seriously enough."
The minister emphasized the need to balance fiscal constraints with support for people working later in life while seriously considering how pension age increases affect different population segments unequally.
