State pension: Britons call for earlier access as age changes prove controversial | Personal Finance | Finance
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The state pension age is currently 66, but rises are confirmed, firstly to 67 and then to 68. However, for some, the increases to state pension age are putting a dampner on the retirement plans they already had in mind.
Looking at alternatives, one in six Britons say they would consider early state pension access at a reduced rate, if the option was available.
The choice would involve individuals being able to claim their state pension from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) at an earlier point.
Britons would have to sacrifice a higher state pension sum, but the benefit would be getting this support at an earlier age.
Tom Selby, head of retirement policy at AJ Bell, the organisation which commissioned the survey, said: “If the Government wants to provide extra flexibility in the state pension system, it could examine the case for allowing people to access their state pension early at an actuarially fair reduced rate.
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Mr Selby added: “Given recent data points to a slowdown in life expectancy improvements, with some regions of the UK seeing average life expectancy go backwards, any move to increase the state pension age will inevitably be hugely controversial.
“On the other side of the coin, a Chancellor nursing a £400 billion black hole in the public finances will likely have serious reservations about pushing back planned state pension age rises or halting them altogether.”
The review into the state pension age must offer feedback by May 2023.
It is at this point the issue of the state pension age, and how it will affect a generation, will perhaps become more clear.
A DWP spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “The state pension provides the foundation for retirement planning and financial security in older age.
“The Government is required by law to regularly review the state pension age and has launched the second state pension age review.
“This will consider whether the rules around state pension age are appropriate, based on a wide range of evidence including latest life expectancy data and two independent reports.
“It is too early to speculate on the outcome of this review.”
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