UK State Pension Age Rise to 68 Delayed, Review Due in Two Years
18/05/2023

The UK government has announced that it will not proceed with plans to increase the state pension age to 68 and will instead conduct a review in two years. However, the state pension age will still rise to 67 by the end of 2028, affecting individuals born after April 1960. The Pensions Act 2014 requires the secretary of state for work and pensions to regularly review the state pension age, and two independent reports were commissioned to inform this review. Estimates suggest that the number of people aged over 67 will rise from 12 million in 2025 to 18 million in 2070. The delay will allow the government to consider the long-term effects of recent challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and global inflationary pressures, which have introduced uncertainty into life expectancy projections, labour markets, and public finances. Secretary of state for work and pensions, Mel Stride, said that the government remains committed to providing ten years' notice of changes to state pension age to enable effective retirement planning and ensure the sustainability and fairness of the state pension system.