State pension age update as Brits push for retirement at 60 | Personal Finance | Finance

An online petition calling on the UK Government to lower the state pension age for some individuals who have been unemployed for five years or more has run into problems. The petition, which is urging the Government to allow early access to the state pension for older individuals on disability benefits but has so far only managed to get 286 signatures.

Currently, the state pension age is set at 66 for both men and women, with a planned increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

George Bolgar, the creator of the petition, suggests that anyone over 60 with a disability “who has been unemployed for at least five years should be given the choice to retire and claim the state pension immediately”.

The petition, has been published on the UK Parliament Petitions website and created by Bolgar.

The full petition states:

• We think that any disabled person aged 60 who has been unemployed for at least five years should be given the choice to retire and claim the State Pension immediately.
• We think that keeping people on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) unemployment list when there is no chance of them ever becoming employed again is extra work for the DWP and extra stress for the disabled person.
• We think that once someone is above 60 years old and unemployed their likelihood of being employable is extremely reduced.

The petition is eligible for a government response at 10,000 signatures, and may be debated in Parliament if it reaches 100,000.

The State Pension age is due to rise from 66 to 67 starting next year, with the hike expected to be fully implemented for all men and women nationwide by 2028.

This adjustment to the official retirement age was announced in 2014 when the Pensions Act 2014 fast-tracked the rise in the State Pension age from 66 to 67 by eight years.

Plans to increase the state pension age may be reconsidered as life expectancy in the UK slows. Pensions Minister Torsten Bell suggested that the upcoming review of the state pension age, scheduled for 2029, may need to consider the lack of growth in life expectancy.

Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals a slower pace of life expectancy growth.

Earlier this year Mr Bell said: “The rise in longevity is falling in that it’s not rising as fast as we would all like.”

Mr Bell noted that the next state pension age review may need to factor in this lack of growth. However, he pointed out: “It’s not just a pensions issue. It’s about our health system; it’s a big problem for the country.”

Mr Bell described the situation as a “slowdown in the pace of progress” and stressed that it still represents a setback.