People born between two dates are to be the first for the change, the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed
The State Pension age is set to rise from 66 to 67, with the change expected to be completely implemented for all men and women across the UK by 2028. This planned increase to the official retirement age has been established since 2014, with a further rise from 67 to 68 scheduled to take place between 2044 and 2046.
The Pensions Act 2014 accelerated the State Pension age increase from 66 to 67 by eight years. The UK Government also modified the timing of the State Pension age rise, meaning that rather than reaching State Pension age on a particular date, those born between 6 March 1961 and 5 April 1977 will become entitled to claim the State Pension when they turn 67.
The UK State Pension age will begin rising from 66 to 67 on 6 April 2026. This phased increase will affect people born between April 1960 and March 1961, with the age of 67 fully implemented by 2028. A further rise to 68 is planned for 2044–2046, but is subject to future review.
Experts stress that people need to prepare themselves for these alterations to prevent being caught out financially. All those impacted by changes to their State Pension age will be notified by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). For more information on the age change click here.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves did not make any changes to the scheme in her spring statement, which also confirms how much pensions will rise by next month. She recently suggested that a review potentially resulting in the age being raised even further is needed to ensure the system remains “sustainable and affordable”. The Government assessment is due to present its conclusions in March 2029, with Ms Reeves saying it was “right” to examine the age at which people can access the state pension as life expectancy continues to increase.
The state pension age currently stands at 66, set to increase to 67 by 2028, with the Government legally obliged to carry out regular reviews of this threshold. The Chancellor informed journalists: “We have just commissioned a review of pensions adequacy, so whether people are saving enough for retirement, and also the state pension age. As life expectancy increases it is right to look at the state pension age to ensure that the state pension is sustainable and affordable for generations to come.”
“That’s why we have asked a very experienced set of experts to look at all the evidence.”
From April 2026, the UK State Pension will increase by 4.8%, driven by average earnings growth. This raises the full new State Pension to £241.30 per week, an increase of over £11 a week. The basic (old) State Pension for those who reached retirement age before April 2016 rises to £184.90 per week.
The examination of the pension age was announced by the Department for Work and Pensions and will include an independent review, led by Dr Suzy Morrissey, examining specific aspects related to the State Pension Age Review alongside the Government Actuary’s Department’s analysis of the latest life expectancy forecast data.
Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, commented: “An increase to state pension age from 66 to 67 is already slated to happen between 2026 and 2028. But it’s less clear what will happen after that.
“There is also an increase to age 68 pencilled in for 2046, but a faster increase is definitely on the cards. The first two reviews of the state pension age advocated bringing this forward, but successive governments have treated the issue like a hot potato.
“This latest state pension age review, however, may eventually force the government’s hand. State pension benefits are one of the single biggest expenses for the Treasury and account for more than 80 per cent of the £175 billion pensioner welfare bill.”
“Without policy intervention, state pension costs are set to spiral to nearly eight per cent of GDP over the next 50 years based on the current trajectory, up from 5.2 per cent today.
“The second state pension age review in 2023 recommended that the increase to 68 should be introduced between 2041 and 2043 to help reduce costs, although the government under Rishi Sunak opted not to commit to that timetable.
“However, the new Labour government may feel it needs to consider the rise to age 68 more closely, particularly if it wants to demonstrate steps toward long-term fiscal prudence.
“What will the third state pension age review look at? The new state pension age review will look at key factors such as linking state pension age to life expectancy, its fairness between generations, as well as its role in ensuring the state pension’s long-term sustainability.
“An ageing population places an increasing burden on taxpayers, with state pension costs rising and fewer working age taxpayers to cover the cost.
“Future governments will hope that an improved economy and growing tax receipts will help alleviate some of the pressure. But that can’t be guaranteed and there needs to be a credible plan for maintaining affordability.
“One option is to raise the state pension age higher and faster than currently planned. Although the elephant in the room is that state pension age is just one lever government has to help manage the cost of the state pension – the other is reforming the triple lock.
“However, if the state pension age review calls for the state pension age timetable to be accelerated, that could provide some cover for future governments to look at reforming the triple lock in order to avert ever more dramatic rises in state pension age.”
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, remarked: “There will be many factors that need to be assessed during this review of the state pension age.
“One of the most important will be healthy life expectancy which according to the latest data hovers in the early 60s.
“This means the reality is that many people will face real difficulties in continuing to work until their mid-to-late 60s and could face a sizeable income gap whilst they wait to receive their state pension.”
The country’s biggest rail workers’ union has previously cautioned that an increase in the state pension age might trigger demonstrations and direct action. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union voiced alarm over a substantial rise in the pension age following a governmental review. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “The UK state pension is already one of the worst in the entire developed world, which is a direct result of decades of governments transferring both our national and personal wealth to the super rich.
“Any decision to squeeze more out of working people by forcing us to work even longer would be a national disgrace.”
He added: “Our members work in physically demanding, round-the-clock, safety-critical jobs. Many already struggle to reach retirement in good health, especially shift workers. Raising the pension age even further isn’t just cruel and unnecessary, it’s a slap in the face to the very people who keep this country running.
“If this government makes any move to drastically increase the retirement age, we intend to lead our movement onto the streets and will not hesitate to protest nationally and take co-ordinated direct action.”
Meanwhile Up to a million more pensioners will be drawn into paying income tax as a direct consequence of frozen tax thresholds, according to new forecasts from the Budget watchdog.
While the state pension is subject to income tax, individuals whose sole income derives from it have historically avoided payments. This is because the full state pension, currently £230.25 per week, falls below the annual personal tax allowance of £12,570.
In her November 2025 Budget, Ms Reeves extended a freeze on the personal allowance until 2031. For the first time since its introduction, the full new state pension is set to exceed the personal allowance in the 2027-28 tax year under the triple-lock policy, which guarantees increases in line with inflation, earnings, or 2.5 per cent.
HM Revenue and Customs has updated its modelling of the impact of the threshold freezes on those whose main source of income is the state pension, the OBR said.
Some pensioners with additional income streams will already be paying tax ahead of 2027-28, according to the watchdog.
“The updated modelling of this population across all personal tax threshold freezes since April 2021 increases the estimate of the number of people brought into paying tax by 600,000 in 2026-27 and one million in 2030-31,” the OBR wrote.
“However, much of this population is projected to pay only very small additional amounts of tax due to the freezes, so this only increases the yield of the November 2025 Budget measures by £0.1bn in 2030-31.”
