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State pension age to be lifted to 67 a decade earlier than planned
Millions of workers aged under 50 will have to delay their retirement by at least two years, the Government has admitted.
Steve Webb said the male pension age hadn't changed for a century. 'How much has life expectancy improved in a century?' Photo: CLARE KENDALL
By Robert Winnett
10:46AM BST 12 Sep 2011
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Ministers will bring forward a planned increase in the state retirement age to 67 – after previously announcing that both men and women will have to retire at 66 from 2020.
The retirement age could rise to 67 as soon as 2026 – a decade earlier than previously proposed – and future increases may automatically be linked to improvements in life expectancy.
Steve Webb, the pensions minister, said the current planned increases in the state pension age were "too slow".
"Everybody knows we are living longer," he said. "It is like an express train. I am even more convinced now than I was a year ago that we are running to stand still on all this stuff. In a world [where] you are going to live into your late 80s, and before we know it [into your] 90s, we think now we have got to move on these things."
Mr Webb said previous governments had failed to address a significant increase in life expectancy and argued that bringing forward the rise in the state pension age was now crucial. "The timescales for 67 and 68 are too slow," he said. "If it is 67 in the mid-2030s we will be going backwards in terms of share of your life in retirement."
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The Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that the state retirement age would be increased to 67 earlier than predicted but said the exact plans were still being drawn up.
A spokesman said: "We've been clear that the current timetable for moving the state pension age to 67 is too slow due to the staggering increases in life expectancy and are committed to reviewing the date. We are continuing to look at how pension ages beyond 66 will be set, including considering an automatic mechanism – no decision has been taken."
Campaigners have called on the Government to announce plans as soon as possible to allow people to plan for the changes.
Michelle Mitchell, a director at Age UK, a charity, said: "Any increase to the state pension age needs to ensure that people have enough time to plan for the change – Age UK believes that people require at least 10 years' notice.
"We also believe that the process of deciding the state pension age should be informed by independent advisers considering a range of factors."
• Four in 10 people without a private pension do not plan to start saving into one, a survey has found. Over half of those without a pension say that they have no spare money to invest in one, while more than one in 10 say that they have never thought about it seriously, according to the Scottish Widows Workplace Pension report.
Millions of workers aged under 50 will have to delay their retirement by at least two years, the Government has admitted.
By Robert Winnett
10:46AM BST 12 Sep 2011
Ministers will bring forward a planned increase in the state retirement age to 67 – after previously announcing that both men and women will have to retire at 66 from 2020.
The retirement age could rise to 67 as soon as 2026 – a decade earlier than previously proposed – and future increases may automatically be linked to improvements in life expectancy.
Steve Webb, the pensions minister, said the current planned increases in the state pension age were "too slow".
"Everybody knows we are living longer," he said. "It is like an express train. I am even more convinced now than I was a year ago that we are running to stand still on all this stuff. In a world [where] you are going to live into your late 80s, and before we know it [into your] 90s, we think now we have got to move on these things."
Mr Webb said previous governments had failed to address a significant increase in life expectancy and argued that bringing forward the rise in the state pension age was now crucial. "The timescales for 67 and 68 are too slow," he said. "If it is 67 in the mid-2030s we will be going backwards in terms of share of your life in retirement."
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12 Sep 2011
The Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that the state retirement age would be increased to 67 earlier than predicted but said the exact plans were still being drawn up.
A spokesman said: "We've been clear that the current timetable for moving the state pension age to 67 is too slow due to the staggering increases in life expectancy and are committed to reviewing the date. We are continuing to look at how pension ages beyond 66 will be set, including considering an automatic mechanism – no decision has been taken."
Campaigners have called on the Government to announce plans as soon as possible to allow people to plan for the changes.
Michelle Mitchell, a director at Age UK, a charity, said: "Any increase to the state pension age needs to ensure that people have enough time to plan for the change – Age UK believes that people require at least 10 years' notice.
"We also believe that the process of deciding the state pension age should be informed by independent advisers considering a range of factors."
• Four in 10 people without a private pension do not plan to start saving into one, a survey has found. Over half of those without a pension say that they have no spare money to invest in one, while more than one in 10 say that they have never thought about it seriously, according to the Scottish Widows Workplace Pension report.