The UK Government have announced the launch of the third review of the State Pension age…
Current State Pension Age
The State Pension age is the earliest age that you are allowed to start claiming your State Pension. You can check your State Pension age here.
The current State Pension age is 66 years old for both men and women. This is currently set to rise to age 67 between 2026 and 2028 and to age 68 between 2044 and 2046.
It’s worth remembering that most private pensions currently allow you to start making withdrawals from your pension from the age of 55 without incurring an unauthorised payments tax charge, meaning you could access these retirement savings earlier than your State Pension. However, this will be increasing to age 57 after 5thApril 2028, though the Government has stated that “members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service schemes will not be affected by this increase.”
Current State Pension Rates
Due to the Triple Lock being maintained, the amount of State Pension you get increased by 4.1% in April 2025. This means that those who qualify the full amount of the new State Pension will now receive £230.25 a week (an increase from £221.20). Those on the basic State Pension (who reached State Pension age before April 2016), who qualify for the full amount, now receive £176.45 a week (an increase from £169.50).
What Will the Review Consider?
Under the 2014 Pensions Act, the Government must conduct a review into the State Pension age every 6 years, in order to take into account things like affordability and life expectancy.
The last review concluded in 2023. Last month, in July 2025, the Government announced the launch of the third review of the State Pension age, which is scheduled to conclude before March 2029. This review will look into whether the rules around State Pension age are appropriate, considering evidence from 2 reports:
- An independent report on specified factors relevant to the review of State Pension age
- A report from the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) to examine the latest life expectancy projections data
What Does This Mean?
The Government has stated “the timetable for the increase in the State Pension age from 67 to 68 could change as a result of the review.” What this means is that the increase of the State Pension age to 68 could come sooner than currently planned.
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.”
She also stated:
“…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.”
In 2024, the International Longevity Centre stated that the State Pension age would need to be 70 or 71 by 2050 in order to maintain the status quo of the constant number of workers per state pensioner.
For now, the State Pension age remains as it is, and the Government is legally required to give at least 10 years notice for any changes to this age.