The State Pension age will increase from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028.
Pension Credit – Could you or someone you know be eligible?
The State Pension age is set to start rising from 66 to 67 next year, with the increase due to be completed for all men and women across the UK by 2028. The planned change to the official age of retirement has been in legislation since 2014 with a further rise from 67 to 68 set to be implemented between 2044 and 2046.
The Pensions Act 2014 brought the increase in the State Pension age from 66 to 67 forward by eight years. The UK Government also changed the way in which the increase in State Pension age is phased so that rather than reaching State Pension age on a specific date, people born between March 6, 1961 and April 5, 1977 will be able to claim the State Pension once they reach 67.
It’s important to be aware of these upcoming changes now, especially if you have a retirement plan in place. Everyone affected by changes to their State Pension age will receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) well in advance.
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Under the Pensions Act 2007 the State Pension age for men and women will increase from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046.
The Pensions Act 2014 provides for a regular review of the State Pension age, at least once every five years. The review will be based around the idea that people should be able to spend a certain proportion of their adult life drawing a State Pension.
A review of the planned rise to 68 is due before the end of this decade and had originally been scheduled by the then Conservative government to take place two years after the general election – which would have been 2026.
Any review of the State Pension age will take into account life expectancy along with a range of other factors relevant to setting the State Pension age.
After the review has reported, the UK Government may then choose to bring forward changes to the State Pension age. However, any proposals would have to go through Parliament before becoming law.
Check your State Pension age online
Your State Pension age is the earliest age you can start receiving your State Pension. It may be different to the age you can get a workplace or personal pension.
Anyone of any age can use the online tool at GOV.UK to check their State Pension age, which can be an essential part of planning your retirement.
You can use the State Pension age tool to check:
- When you will reach State Pension age
- Your Pension Credit qualifying age
- When you will be eligible for free bus travel – this is at age 60 in Scotland
Check your State Pension age online here.
Boosting State Pension payments
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recently announced that more than 10,000 payments worth £12.5 million have been made by people through the new digital service to boost State Pensions since it launched last year.
However, anyone keen to maximise their retirement income through the contributory benefit has just a few weeks left to fill any gaps in their National Insurance (NI) records going back as far as 2006.
Usually people can only pay voluntary contributions for the past six tax years, and after the April 5 deadline this year the normal six-tax year time limit will apply.
In 2023, the previous government extended the deadline to pay voluntary NI contributions to April 5, 2025 for those affected by new State Pension transitional arrangements, covering the tax years running from April 6, 2006 to April 5, 2018.
The extended deadline has allowed people more time to consider what is right for them and make their contributions.
Men born after April 6, 1951 and women born after April 6, 1953 are eligible to make voluntary NI contributions to boost their New State Pension.
Some people may be entitled to NI credits rather than needing to pay contributions, so they will need to check and consider what is right for them.
People can find out more about making voluntary contributions on GOV.UK here. People of working age can also check their State Pension forecast on GOV.UK here.
Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners, the online investment platform, said: “People typically need at least 10 qualifying years of NI (national insurance) contributions to receive any state pension at all and at least 35 years to receive the full new State Pension – though they don’t need to be consecutive years.
“Plugging gaps can be quite an expensive process, so it is important to assess whether you actually need to buy back any missing years. This will depend on how many more years you plan to work, and whether you are eligible for NI tax credits, which fill the gaps, such as those who have been sick, were unemployed or took time out to raise a family or care for elderly relations.
“Plugging gaps in your record is relatively straightforward since the Government rolled out its new NI payments services in April last year – a State Pension forecast tool that has been checked by 3.7m since its launch.”
She continued: “People simply need to log into their personal tax account or the HMRC app to not only view any payment gaps but also check if they can plug those gaps directly through the Government’s digital channels.
“A short survey assesses the person’s suitability to pay online with those eligible to pay directly given a series of options to plug any gaps depending on when someone wants to stop working.
“Calculating whether to top up can be confusing though and ultimately there is no point paying for more years than you need because you won’t get that money back.”
Ms Haine added: “People who might need to top up include those that took a career break as well as low earners or expatriates living and working abroad.
“Remember, this deadline has been extended a couple of times in the past, which makes it more likely the Government will stick to the April cut-off point this time around. For this reason, those that think they might need to take action should start the process now.”
