The state pension age review will be published in early 2023, the chancellor has said.
The state pension age is legislated to increase over the next 25 years and there is currently a review of the state pension age being carried out looking at whether the existing timetable remains appropriate.
The review, which was announced last year (December 2021), will look at whether the rules around pensionable age are appropriate, based on the latest life expectancy data and other evidence.
Life expectancy in the UK has been falling, which has led to some to call for a rethink in planned state pension age increases.
The government said: “The review will need to carefully balance important factors, including fiscal sustainability, the economic context, the latest life expectancy data and fairness both to pensioners and taxpayers.”
The Department for Work and Pensions will also consider whether it should bring forward the rise in the age at which people become eligible for the state pension to 2037-39.
The state pension age is currently 66 and two further increases are already set out in legislation, including a gradual rise to 67 for those born on or after April 1960; and a gradual rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for those born on or after April 1977.
The Pensions Act 2014 requires the government to regularly review the state pension age, and it must be published by May 7, 2023.
The DWP said the review will examine the implications of the latest life expectancy data and provide a “balanced assessment of the costs of an ageing population” as well as future state pension spending.
It will also look at labour market changes, in particular whether people work beyond state pension age, and will come up with a legislative timetable for the state pension age that is “transparent and fair”.
amy.austin@ft.com
