One in six people whose state pension age is 66 or 67 either do not know their SPA or underestimate it, with those who have lower levels of wealth particularly likely to be mistaken, new research suggests.

Most people in their 60s are well informed about their state pension age, but among people born after 6 April 1960, whose state pension age is between 66 and 67 and who retire between next year and 2028, fewer than half (42%) know their SPA correctly within three months, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said in a new briefing. The same proportion overestimates their SPA, and a significant minority of 16% either do not know their SPA or underestimate it.

Those with lower levels of wealth are particularly likely to be mistaken, according to the IFS, which is a concern as people with less personal wealth tend to be more reliant on the state pension. The thinktank noted that people who discover that they need to wait longer for their state pension could face a period of unexpectedly low income. Women, the self-employed and people not in paid work were more likely to not know or underestimate their SPA.

“Most people in their 60s are well informed about their state pension age. However, one in six of those with a state pension age between 66 and 67 – equivalent to about 130,000 people – either underestimate or do not know what their state pension age is. This is especially important as the state pension age rise from 66 to 67 is imminent: it starts in just a year’s time,” said senior research economist Heidi Karjalainen.

“If individuals discover that they have to wait longer than they had thought to claim the state pension, they may regret having retired or not having saved more. It is important that there are clear communications from both the government and private pension providers around increases in the state pension age, to help people avoid costly surprises and plan more effectively for later life,” she added.

The briefing’s findings are reminiscent of the women’s state pension age comms debacle, where thousands of women said they did not know that their state pension age had increased. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has found that the increase in women’s SPA was communicated 28 months too late, constituting maladministration by the Department for Work and Pensions. The DWP, despite accepting there was maladministration, has rejected the ombudsman’s recommendation to compensate the affected women.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said the department would “learn all the lessons to ensure this type of maladministration never happens again”.

Last month, campaigners filed a claim for a judicial review that, if permitted and successful, would force the government review its decision not to compensate the affected women.

The state pension age for women and men stands at 66 since 2020 and will increase to 67 in a year’s time. A further legislated increase to 68 will happen in 2044-46, but this could be brought forward. 

The IFS has previously argued that working age benefits for people just below state pension age should be increased, given the increase in poverty levels in this group linked to rising SPA.