Your state pension age is the earliest age you can start claiming your state pension – it is currently set at 66, but a new report is saying this should rise to 74
The state pension in the UK would need to rise to 74 by 2069 to keep funding the triple lock promise, according to a new report.
The warning was issued by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) following fears that an ageing population will mean the government policy becomes unaffordable.
Your state pension age is the earliest age you can start claiming your state pension. The current state pension age for women and men retiring now is 66, but is slowly rising to 68.
The triple lock ensures that the state pension rises every April by whichever is highest out of inflation, wages or 2.5%. But without changes to the state pension age, the IFS has warned that the triple lock will cost taxpayers up to £40billion a year.
It has proposed a double lock instead, which would link state pension increases to wages or inflation. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to keep the triple lock until 2029.
In its latest report, the IFS said: “Increases in the state pension age required to keep spending on the state pension below a certain level of national income would have to be substantial.
“[Official] modelling shows that to keep public spending on the state pension below 6pc of national income while retaining the triple lock, the state pension age would have to rise to 69 by 2049 and 74 by 2069.”
Mike Ambery, Retirement Savings Director at Standard Life, said: “The report correctly identifies widespread under-saving and gaps in pension provision.
“We are supportive of their conclusion that there is not a one size fits all solution to these problems but there is a need to be more inclusive, particularly for the self-employed, as well as for younger workers who are not yet included.
“The risk of over saving for those on low incomes is significant but so too is the need for most of those on average or higher earnings to save more.
“Striking the right balance will be a key challenge of the adequacy review, and any change would need to be carefully considered and in consultation, especially with employers.“
The state pension age is already scheduled to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, with a further increase to 68 currently set to happen between 2044 and 2046. There has previously been calls for the rise to 68 to be brought forward.
The state pension is separate to any private or workplace pensions you may have. You can check your state pension age online and this includes your state pension forecast, which shows much money you’ll get when you reach state pension age.
There are two different types of state pension and which one you claim depends on when you were born. You claim the new state pension if you’re a man born on or after April 6, 1951, or a woman born on or after April 6, 1953. The full rate is £230.25 a week.
You claim the basic state pension if you’re a man born before April 6, 1951, or a woman born before April 6, 1953. The full rate is £176.45 a week.
The amount of state pension you get depends on your National Insurance record. For the new state pension, you need 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get the full amount, and normally ten years to get anything at all.