People approaching their 66th birthday in the next year will be directly impacted
The state pension age is rising from 66 to 67, which means certain people will be required to work an extra year longer than they initially anticipated before they can access their state pension. The adjustment will be rolled out gradually, impacting anyone who turns 66 between April 6, 2026 and March 5, 2027.
Your state pension age marks the earliest moment you can begin claiming your state pension, although you’re not obliged to claim it immediately and can choose to postpone receiving payments. The state pension age has stood at 66 since October 2020, however between now and March 5, 2027, each peopleturning 66 could face a different state pension age based on their position within the staged rollout.
The first group affected by this change celebrated their 66th birthday in April and will start receiving their state pension from May. In contrast, people turning 66 in May face an additional two-month delay before they can access their state pension entitlement.
State pension age based on date of birth:
- 6 April 1960 – 5 May 1960: 66 years and 1 month
- 6 May 1960 – 5 June 1960: 66 years and 2 months
- 6 June 1960 – 5 July 1960: 66 years and 3 months
- 6 July 1960 – 5 August 1960: 66 years and 4 months
- 6 August 1960 – 5 September 1960: 66 years and 5 months
- 6 September 1960 – 5 October 1960: 66 years and 6 months
- 6 October 1960 – 5 November 1960: 66 years and 7 months
- 6 November 1960 – 5 December 1960: 66 years and 8 months
- 6 December 1960 – 5 January 1961: 66 years and 9 months
- 6 January 1961 – 5 February 1961: 66 years and 10 months
- 6 February 1961 – 5 March 1961: 66 years and 11 months
- 6 March 1961 – 5 April 1977: 67 years
Those born after 5 March 1961 will qualify for their state pension at 67. The Gov.uk website provides a state pension age calculator allowing people to confirm their minimum state pension age.
The state pension age continues to be reviewed regularly, with further rises expected throughout the 2040s. These modifications are designed to keep pace with UK life expectancy figures, guaranteeing that everyone can spend approximately the same proportion of their lifetime enjoying retirement.
Addressing the Work and Pensions Committee on March 18, Pensions Minister Torsten Bell stated that changes to the state pension age are intended to reflect rising life expectancy across the UK, ensuring each generation spends “at least a third” of their life in retirement. He explained: “At the point which the state pension age was first introduced, only about half of people were expected to even get to state pension age. It’s 93% now. We want to make sure we have a sustainable state pension in the longer term.”
Despite this, he conceded that raising the state pension age “never feels like an easy decision”. Anyone affected by changes to their State Pension age will be notified in advance by the DWP through a formal letter, allowing them sufficient time to amend their retirement arrangements.
Currently, the new state pension is worth £241.30 per week, although this full sum is only available to those who have accumulated 35 qualifying years. A qualifying year is defined as any year in which National Insurance contributions were made, National Insurance credits were received, or voluntary contributions were purchased. Those who have fewer than 35 qualifying years on their National Insurance record will receive a reduced proportion of the state pension, while anyone with under 10 qualifying years will be ineligible for the new state pension entirely.
Analysis by the Royal London in 2023 found that only approximately half of the 3.4 million people in receipt of the new state pension were actually eligible to receive the full sum.
