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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Lottie Gibbons

DWP state pension warning as retirement age could be increased

Retirement age could soon increase after a review of the state pension rules is published later this year.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said no decision has been taken on changes to the state pension age. The Government recently confirmed the triple lock will be used to uprate the state pension next year.

The triple lock guarantees state pensions increase by September's inflation figure, wages or 2.5%, whichever is higher. The guarantee means retirees are heading for a 10.1% increase in the state pension from next April.

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A phased increase in state pension age from 66 to 67 by 2028, and eventually 68, are already planned. Pension experts said the Government faces a "tricky balancing act" in supporting an ageing population.

Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "The Government faces a tricky balancing act with the state pension - we have fewer working age people supporting an increasing ageing population and costs are enormous.

"However, we also have to face the very real prospect that many people simply are not well enough to work until age 68. Added to this, rapid increases in state pension age have disrupted people's financial planning.

"With the debate around the triple lock continuing to rage we need to have a proper thorough review of state pension to give people more certainty over how and when it is paid so they can plan ahead."

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson said: "No decision has been taken on changes to the state pension age.

"The Government is required by law to regularly review the state pension age and the second State Pension Age Review is currently considering, based on a wide range of evidence including latest life expectancy data and two independent reports, whether the rules around state pension age remain appropriate.

"The review will be published early this year." Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at wealth manager Quilter, said: "Proposed state pension age increases are always a bitter pill for the electorate to swallow as people see their working lives stretch further in front of them.

"However, the Government did signal in its 2017 review that it would follow a recommendation to accelerate the increase to 68 into the 2030s, so these rumours are arguably not a change in stance."

He added: "Ultimately, people need to take responsibility for their own retirement and plan ahead, and taking professional advice or financial guidance earlier in life is a sensible step."

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