GAD and the State Pension age review

State Pension age

The current State Pension age is 66 years old for both men and women and is currently set to rise to age 67 between 2026 and 2028, and to age 68 between 2044 and 2046. The Pensions Act 2014 requires the government to regularly review the State Pension age. Previous reviews concluded in 2017 and 2023 respectively.

Third review

The third State Pension age review will consider whether the rules around pensionable age are appropriate. This will be based on life expectancy data and evidence from 2 reports – an independent report led by Dr Suzy Morrissey, and a report from the Government Actuary to examine the latest life expectancy projections data.

GAD’s involvement

The Government Actuary’s report must provide advice on whether the rules about pensionable age mean that, on average, a person who reaches pensionable age within a specified period can be expected to spend a specified proportion of his or her adult life in retirement.

The report should also include a commentary on trends in life expectancy data, an assessment of current legislative timings for the rise to 68 and sensitivity analysis.

Pensions Commission

The statutory review of the State Pension age will sit alongside the new Pensions Commission, which has been revived to look at the overall issue of retirement savings. The original Pensions Commission was established in 2002 and issued its final report in 2005. The Commission’s findings led to several policy changes across state and private pension saving, including reforms to the State Pension system and the introduction of automatic enrolment.

Pensions Minister Torsten Bell MP said the role of the revived Pensions Commission will be to conduct a review of our pensions system as a whole and the retirement outcomes it delivers, with “a clear objective: building a strong, fair and sustainable pension system fit for the middle of the twenty first century”.