The government has been asked whether it is definitely bringing state pension age 68 forward to 2037-39 from the currently legislated 2044-46 timetable, after a report by the Office for Budget Responsibility suggested this was the case. 

On 8 September, Lord Bryn Davies asked the government if it is true that the government's policy position is that the state pension age reaches 68 between 2037 and 2039, rather than between 2044 and 2046 as is currently legislated for.  

The state pension age is going up from 66 to 67 until 2028 but by law is only due to start rising to 68 in 2044. A previous state pension review recommended bringing the date forward to 2037-39, but this has not been legislated for.  

However, in July, the OBR's 'Fiscal risks and sustainability 2026' report said – in a footnote – that the Treasury is working with 2037-39 as the timing for an increase in the state pension age to 68, stating: "The Treasury has confirmed to us that this is the government’s current policy position, rather than the legislated increase set in the Pensions Act 2007."  

Baroness Maeve Sherlock, a minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, offered a reply to Lord Davies on Tuesday. "The previous government committed to bring forward the rise in the State Pension age to 68 between 2037 and 2039," she said, and added: "The first chance this government will have to consider this issue will be via the State Pension Age Review."  

The DWP minister did not say whether the department would definitely consider the issue or what its conclusion could be.  

A review of the state pension age began last summer. A call for input was launched by the government on behalf of Suzy Morrissey, who is tasked with looking at fairness and sustainability of UK state pensions. The Government Actuary's Department will produce a separate report on the proportion of adult life spent in retirement. The two papers will inform the secretary of state’s own state pension age review, which is technically only due in March 2029.  

The OBR assumes that the state pension age will rise to 69 in 2075 based on an assumption that 32% of adult life is spent in retirement.

Increases in state pension age can lead to a number of problems. When it was put up from 65 to 66 between 2018 and 2020, income poverty among 65-year-olds more than doubled. The Work and Pensions Committee fears the impact will be even greater with the rise to 67, as half of those aged 60 to 66 in the lowest income quintile are already frail, and has called for extra benefits for those just before state pension age. 

"Following a review in 2023, the previous government decided to proceed with the increase to 67 but said it would keep under review the position of those unable to keep working. However, no such review had been announced by the time of the 2024 general election, and the current government does not intend to conduct its evaluation until after the increase has taken effect in 2028. This is too late," the committee's report states. 

"The failure to act on 2 our recommendation for a fresh assessment by the end of 2025, has left a significant gap in the government’s understanding of the impact of the increase to 67. An opportunity to inform mitigations has been missed," the MPs conclude.

It noted that when asked, the pensions minister stressed the importance of supporting later working.  

How quickly increases in state pension age are changed and communicated is also critical. An acceleration of the change in women's state pension age from 60 to 65 has led to a protracted legal battle between campaigners and the government after the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman identified maladministration by the DWP.