As the state pension age review is launched by the Labour Party government, it is feared the DWP could adopt a rule from Scandinavia.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could break new ground as it adopts a European state pension rule. As the state pension age review is launched by the Labour Party government, it is feared the DWP could adopt a rule from Scandinavia.
David Robbins, director at risk and insurance group WTW, expected the review from the Labour Party to move the state pension age forward by a few years, as the Budget watchdog is working on the basis that it increases to 68 in 2039.
“Going slower than that would mean extra spending versus those projections. My best guess is it would be a few years earlier [Than 2044-46],” he explains.
READ MORE Iconic homeware chain set to close UK branch with shoppers left devastated
Sir Steve Webb, ex Liberal Democrats pensions minister and now partner at LCP, believes the move forward will be very slight. “I guess they might bring things forward a bit from 2046, but only at the margins,” he says.
Kirsty Anderson, retirement specialist at Quilter, said: “The upcoming age review due by 2027 will be politically sensitive. Accelerating the rise to 68 may be necessary to protect sustainability, but must be justified with updated life expectancy data and a clear understanding of regional disparities.”
Jason Hollands, managing director of Evelyn Partners, said: “Denmark recently became the first European country to move its retirement age to 70 for those born after December 31, 1970.
“While Denmark is currently an outlier, this could become the norm, and we may well see this in the UK eventually.”
Webb said: “The big challenge is that if you announce something more aggressive on pension ages, including potentially talking about a later move to 69 or even 70, is that you get all of the political flak but none of the revenue in any timetable you care about.
“This is essentially why the last two reviews were never implemented.”