DWP state pension age increase to 70 is ‘entirely feasible’ by this date | Personal Finance | Finance

People could soon have to wait until their seventies to claim their state pension, a wealth expert has warned.

The state pension age is currently 66 for both men and women and will soon be going up again, increasing gradually to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

A further increase to 68 is timetabled for between 2044 and 2046 but there have been discussions about moving forward this timetable.

Labour has announced another review of the state pension age will take place, after the last one in 2022 recommended DWP ministers should consider lifting it to 69.

But with the cost of the state pension ever increasing, retirement experts have suggested the access age could soon be lifted to 70.

Chris Ball, CEO at Hoxton Wealth, said: “If you consider the increasing life expectancy in the UK and because of this, the financial strain on the state pension, it’s entirely feasible that we could see the pension age increase to 70 or even beyond in the coming decades.

“A gradual increase to age 68 has already been legislated, but whether the age will increase to say 70 will depend on the strength of public finances.”

The Government must provide ‘sufficient’ support

Suggesting a date for when this could happen, Mr Ball said: “We could see the pension age pushed up to 70 by the 2040s based on current trends.

“However any Government that seeks to enact this will have to consider that people who have worked for most of their lives have sufficient support from the state in their later years.”

He said that some measures the Government could bring in to help people stay healthy and in employment longer include more flexible working arrangements, phased retirements and job roles that better suit the needs of older workers.

Despite the state pension age moving up, some experts think it would be a good idea to allow early access to the state pension.

Steven Cameron, pensions director at wealth firm Aegon, said: “We support giving people the choice to draw it say up to three years earlier, at a reduced amount to make it financially fair for all.

“An alternative would be to commit to allowing access from not later than say age 68, at a lower amount, even if the state pension age increases thereafter.”

In the last review of the state pension age, carried out by Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the idea was put forward to allow certain groups of people early access.

But Mr Cameron warned there would be problems with such a system. He said: “We believe giving special terms to particular groups would be extremely difficult to implement fairly.

“Who would decide which ‘jobs’ qualified? How would this be monitored? Instead, we favour the Government exploring allowing everyone the option to access their state pension a little earlier, at a reduced level to make it financially fair.”