Torsten Bell

Millions more people face having to work until they are 68 before being able to claim their pension under plans to bring forward a rise in the state retirement age, @oliver_wright reports The state pension age is due to gradually rise to 68 between April 2044 and April 2046. It will reach 68 for those born on or after April 6, 1978 However, Treasury officials have told the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the government’s fiscal forecaster, that the “current policy” is to bring the increase in the retirement age forward by at least seven years, to 2037 This would mean that about five million people who are aged between 49 and 55 at present would have to work for an additional year before being eligible for their state pension, costing them about £12,500 The decision would save the government about £6 billion a year from 2037 compared with the present timetable Last year ministers launched a review of the state pension age led by the Government Actuary’s Department and Suzy Morrissey, deputy director of the Pensions Policy Institute. It is due to make recommendations on when the pension age should rise before the government legislates for any change. Ministers have insisted no final decision has been taken However, in a response to the OBR, the Treasury said the government’s intention was to bring forward the pension age rise towards the end of the next decade The OBR said: “We assume that the state pension rises to 68 in 2037-39. The Treasury has confirmed to us that this is the government’s current policy position, rather than the legislated increase set in the Pensions Act 2007.” thetimes.com/article/b74703…