The government indicated that it will decide whether to advance the date when the state pension age increases to 68 after the following general election, Entrepreneurng report.
The work and pensions minister, Mel Stride, told MPs on Thursday that the time was not right to adjust in response to a review of the funding of the UK retirement system.
According to current plans, the present state pension age of 66 is expected to climb to 67 in a gradual introduction between 2026 and 2028, then increase to 68 between 2044 and 2046, which will affect anyone born after April 1977.
A 2017 government analysis recommended moving the latter range forward to the late 2030s, which would require millions of people born in the early 1970s who anticipated retiring at age 67 to postpone their plans.
Reports In response to pressure by the Treasury to reduce state pension payments by billions of pounds, January reported that officials planned to bring forward this hike to 2035, which would affect people who are 54 and younger today.
Ministers had feared a possible backlash from middle-aged voters, however, as a general election was anticipated for the autumn of next year. Officials in the UK who support the changes have been alarmed by riots in France over a proposed rise in the country’s retirement age from 62 to 64.
The probable annual cost of the state pension over the next 30 years has decreased, according to declining life expectancy rates, Stride told MPs. As a result, his department would conduct a new analysis to take the rise into account within two years of the beginning of the next legislative session.
Given the degree of ambiguity surrounding the information on life expectancy, labor markets, and state budgets, as well as the importance of these decisions on the lives of millions of people, he said: “I am cognizant that a different conclusion might be justified once these elements are clearer.”
Recipients of a full state pension receive £9,627.80 per year. It will increase by 10.1% in April after the government announced that a triple lock would be in effect, which ties increases to earnings, inflation, or a minimum of 2.5%. This will bring increases in line with the price increase estimate from last September.
By law, the government is required every six years to review the impact of changes in life expectancy and national insurance (NI) payments on the pension system.
The examination examining how to sustain the government’s goal of ensuring no one spends more than a third of their adult life in retirement was chaired by Lady Neville-Rolfe, a Conservative lord. While it was finished in September of last year, the administration has not yet released it. The most recent life expectancy statistics are being looked at in a separate study by the government’s actuary.
In conclusion, life expectancy isn’t expected to increase as swiftly as previously anticipated, even though NI contributions have increased recently, particularly by employers.
Source: The Gaudian
