DWP to bring forward changes to State Pension age - find out what age you can retire

The State Pension age will increase much earlier than planned, according to a new move from the government. A review is now being carried out into the premature rise after the government previously said bringing forward an increase in the retirement age from 66 to 68 is "the fair thing to do."

Under the current legislation, the State Pension age would have increased to 68 between 2044 and 2046. But it will instead follow the recommendations in an independent review by John Cridland, former Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), says the government.

The Cridland review says the pension age should go up to 68 seven years earlier than that, between 2037 and 2039. This is because of the impact of an increasing number of older people from the Baby Boomer generation (born 1945–65), along with a rise in life expectancy.

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Latest projections from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are that the number of people over State Pension age in the UK is expected to grow by one third, from 12.4 million to 16.9 million, by 2042. But at the same time, the number of working-age people, whose National Insurance contributions fund the State Pension, will start to go down.

A report by the government explains: "In 1948, when the modern State Pension was introduced, a 65-year-old could expect to live for a further 13½ years, or 23 per cent of their adult life, assuming adult life starts at 20. In 1995, when the first changes were enacted to equalise State Pension age, a 65-year-old could expect to live for 18½ years, or 29 per cent of their adult life. This had risen to around 21 years by