The state pension age review will be published by May, the pensions minister has confirmed.
In a letter to Stephen Timms, who is chair of the work and pensions committee in the House of Commons, pensions minister Laura Trott said work was "well underway" on the review which the government will publish by May of this year.
Trott said: "We are of course considering the full range of evidence to reach decisions that are robust, transparent and provide fairness to both taxpayers and future pensioners.
"This includes the evidence from the Government Actuary’s report and the independent report led by Baroness Neville-Rolfe.
"We are planning to publish both the Government Actuary’s report and the independent report no later than the government’s report. Although this is a different publication schedule to the last review, the issues are still under consideration and so we think this approach is more appropriate."
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 in 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 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
