Millions to work longer as pension age could be raised to 68 in 2037 as workers face waiting until election for decision

A RISE in the state pension age to 68 won’t happen until 2037 at the earliest, DWP Secretary Mel Stride admitted today.

Speaking at a lunch in parliament, Mr Stride also confirmed he’s got no plans to scrap the pensions triple lock.

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But he added a final decision on moving the state pension age to 68 won’t come until after the next general election.

And he argued the hike is actually more likely to go ahead in the 2040s than 30s.

“It’s fair to say the earliest date would be 2037,” Mr Stride said.

“I suspect it (will be) something in the range of 2040s or there about.

“But that will be a decision for someone else with different data, come the next parliament.”

The current age at which people can claim a state pension – which is 66 – is due to rise to 67 by the end of 2028.

A decision on 68 was supposed to come earlier this year, but the government delayed it due to life expectancy changes in the UK.

In March Mr Stride told MPs that while life expectancy is still rising, it is doing so at a much lower pace.

That, plus other factors such as the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, meant it would be appropriate to review the rise to 68 again at a later date.

The senior minister said: “You’re debating whether you’re going to do it in the 2030s, 2040s or there about.

“So there’s no reason why you need to take the decision now. You can wait until the first couple of years in the next parliament, take that decision and still give people ten years’ notice of your decision and make the change at that point.”

On the issue of taxes, Mr Stride said that tackling economic inactivity could fund a 2p cut.

An estimated 9 million Brits are unemployed at the moment, costing the economy billions.

DWP is desperate to get the public back to work.

The delayed decision to the state pension age means that millions of workers who were previously expecting to work for longer have been given relief.

However, that could change at the next review, expected in the next two-three years.

The state pension bill is set to balloon from £110billion this year to £150billion within the next five years alone, the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned.

But the DWP were resistant to raising the age again – as life expectancy has plateaued in recent years.

It could mean some people dying before they are able to access their hard-earned pots.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk