Millions of people might have to work longer over concerns the state pension age could rise in less than 20 years.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said the state pension age could rise to 68 by '2040 or thereabouts', but said it is not a decision to be made by the current UK government. He said there was 'no reason why you need to take the decision now' on any change following a pledge to inform voters 10 years ahead of time.
It comes after an independent review by former Confederation of British Industry director-general John Cridland, in 2017, recommended the state pension age should be raised to 68 in 2037 to 2039. A follow-up study by Baroness Neville-Rolfe this year said the timetable should be pushed back to 2041 to 43.
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Mr Stride, asked when was the earliest he could envisage it being changed from 67 to 68, said: “I think it is fair to say that the earliest would be Cridland’s suggestion of 2037, but that was predicated on different life expectancy data. And in fact if you applied what we know now to Cridland’s methodology, you would end up with a date in the 2050s actually.
“Neville-Rolfe came in with something in the 2040s, so I suspect it is in that range of 2040 or thereabouts. But it will be for somebody else to sift through the data in the next Parliament.”
Explaining his reasons for delaying the decision, he said: "Ultimately, I took the decision that because of Covid, because of the uncertainties economically — because there are many metrics that play into this decision — and the fact the important thing is you give people, I feel, 10 years notice of any change.
“The kind of range of dates for the moving up of the state pension age from 67 to 68 are well into the 2030s. You are debating whether you are going to do it in the 2030s, 2040s or thereabouts.
“So there is no reason why you need to take the decision now. You can wait until the first couple of years of the next Parliament to take that decision and still give people 10 years’ notice of your decision and make the change at that point.”
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