The qualifying rules for the state pension are currently changing
The qualifying rules for the state pension are changing (Image: Getty)
As changes to the state pension take effect, many people face having to wait longer to claim the benefit. It’s worth checking if you are affected by the changes, as the new eligibility rules are taking effect right now.
The age you can claim the state pension from is increasing gradually from 66 to 67, moving up in stages between April 2026 and April 2028. You can check what age you can claim the benefit on the Government website.
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With the benefit currently paying £230.25 a week at the full new rate, if you have to wait an extra year to claim the support, you would lose out on some £12,550 of income. This shortfall will only increase as the triple lock continues to drive up payments each April.
Payments increase
The triple lock measure ensures payments go up in line with whichever proves to be highest of 2.5 percent, the rise in average earnings or inflation. Plans are also in place for another increase to the state pension age, from 67 to 68, between April 2044 and 2046.
This raises the question as to whether further increases to the state pension age could be on the cards. Hannah Martin, pensions expert and founder of Rich Retiree, said this is a real possibility.
She said: “I don’t think that we can rule out any potential future changes to the state pension. Realistically, the Government is in a difficult position with an ageing population and large welfare bill.
“And one way they may try to tackle this is by increasing the age again later on.” However, there is one key factor that suggests against further increases to the access age.
‘No official cap’
Ms Martin explained: “With life expectancy plateauing after a drop between 2019 and 2021, this could be an issue. The Government has a legal responsibility to ensure that the state pension age is appropriate, and that, on average, people can expect to spend a specified proportion of their adult life in retirement.
“So while there is no official cap on the state pension age, the Government can’t keep increasing it forever.” A 2023 independent review of the state pension age by Baroness Neville-Rolfe suggested there should be a “fixed proportion” of adult life that people expect to receive the state pension.
31 per cent rule
She suggested that this should be set at “up to 31 per cent of adult life” and that based on this metric, the increase from 66 to 67 should take place as planned, while the move from 67 to 68 should be brought forward, to take effect from 2041 and 2043.
The then Conservative Government decided not to take up any of these recommendations. Looking at the latest life expectancy figures from the ONS, life expectancy at birth for UK females was 83 years in 2022 to 2024, and was 79.1 years for UK males.
Life expectancy for both men and women has increased at a consistent rate over the past few decades, before slowing down and levelling off around 2011. Life expectancy dipped during the pandemic years before recovering to levels immediately before the pandemic.