Retirement age could be raised by NINE years - and it's especially bad news if you're in your 40s or younger

Around 5.8million people could now have to graft until they are at least 68 - while those aged 30 and younger could be 70 before they draw their pension

By Ben Glaze

Recommendation to withdraw the triple lock in 2020, will be a blow to existing and future pensioners (Photo: Getty)

Millions of workers face slogging for an extra year under plans to bring forward a hike in the retirement age.
A Government-commissioned review also recommends axing the “triple lock” which sees pensions rise by either inflation, average earnings or 2.5%, whichever is highest.
Ministers were going to lift the age at which people can receive the state pension from 67 to 68 April 2046.
But the report by ex-business chief John Cridland recommends introducing the overhaul in 2037 - nine years earlier.
The move would delay retirement for millions of employees and see them forced to graft for an extra 12 months before they can claim state pension.

Millions of workers face working for much longer (Photo: Getty)

The independent report, which is being considered by ministers, also crushes the hopes of manual workers that they would be able to receive their pensions before their white-collar equivalents in middle-class jobs.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Hiking up the state pension age will hit low paid workers the hardest, and it will punish those who become too sick to work.
“Ending the triple lock while driving up state pension age would be a stealth cut to the future incomes of workers who are today in their 30s and 40s.
“There is a 20-year gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest. These changes risk only the wealthy enjoying a decent retirement.”

People face working for an extra nine years (Photo: Getty)

Pensions Secretary Damian Green said: “Reviewing the State Pension age during each Parliament is part of our commitment to creating a fairer society, helping to ensure that it is sustainable for future generations.
“As Government goes about making its decision on the future State Pension age in May of this year these contributions and recommendations will provide important insight.”
The report also recommends a mid-life ‘MOT’ for people to take stock of their lives and a drive for older workers to become apprenticeship mentors and trainers.
If the government takes up the recommendations, people in their 40s face their state pension age being pushed back a year.
Those in their 30s and younger may eventually face the possibility of drawing their pension at 70.

Frances O'Grady has slammed the plans (Photo: Daily Mirror)

The state pension age is already due to go up in stages, with a rise to 67 by 2028.
The next increase to 68 had not been due to happen until between 2044 and 2046.
But the latest report recommends this happening earlier to ensure pensions can remain financially sustainable.
The government will use the report to inform its review of the pension age in May.
The Government Actuary’s Department has been asked to consider two alternative scenarios for the state pension age, reflecting someone spending either 32% or 33.3% of their projected adult life in retirement.
Under a 32% scenario, it found the state pension age could rise to 69 between 2040 and 2042. Under a 33.3% scenario the state pension age could rise to 69 between 2053 and 2055.
Mr Cridland’s report said the state pension is a “pay as you go” system - meaning today’s workers pay for today’s pensioners.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Damian Green (Photo: Rex)

Today, there are 305 pensioners for every thousand people of working age. By the time people approach retirement nearing 2050, there will be 357 pensioners for every thousand people of working age.
Nearly £100 billion per year is currently spent by the Government on the state pension and pensioner benefits.
Projections suggest an additional 1% of GDP will need to be spent on the state pension by 2036-37. The report said if the same rise in spending was faced today, this would be equivalent to a rise in taxation of £725 per household per year.
Tom McPhail, head of retirement policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “This report is going to be particularly unwelcome for anyone in their early 40s, as they’re now likely to see their state pension age pushed back another year.
“For those in their 30s and younger, it reinforces the expectation of a state pension from age 70, which means an extra two years of work. This report also looks like the death-knell for the state pension triple lock.”

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