With the state pension age set to be reviewed again, do you think the threshold should rise to 70? Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced today that the state pension will be reviewed. It will examine whether the current pension age is still appropriate, considering factors like life expectancy, and it is set to be concluded by 2029.
However, the current state pension age of 66 is set to rise to 67 before then, between 2026 and 2028. The announcement follows warnings from experts that people looking to retire in 2050 could receive £800 less annually than current pensioners.
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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) cited concerns about the cost of living impacting retirements, as it said 45% of working-age adults were not contributing to their pensions.
Liz Kendall said she was “under no illusions” about how difficult it would be to plan for pensions in the coming decades due to the impact of the cost of living crisis.
She said “many workers are more concerned about putting food on the table and keeping a roof over their heads than saving for a retirement that seems a long, long way away”.
Kendall added that many businesses “face huge challenges in keeping profitable and flexible in an increasingly uncertain world”.
She announced that the Pension Commission would also be revived to assess why future pensioners are on track to be poorer than pensioners now.
The government is required to conduct a review into the state pension age every six years, according to the Pensions Act 2014. The last one concluded in 2023.