State pension age warning as this group 'may have to wait extra years'

Millions of people may have to wait several more extra years to claim their state pension, a group has warned. Labour announced this week it will carry out another review of the state pension age.

The access age is currently 66 but is timetabled to increase gradually to 67, between 2026 and 2028. Increasing the state pension age is one way to try and curb the rising costs of the policy, while the other key method to do this would be to change the triple lock metric.

This guarantees state pension rates go up each April in line with the highest of 2.5%, the rise in average earnings or inflation.

The Government previously committed to keeping the triple lock in place for the duration of this Parliament. State pension rates increased 4.1 percent this past April thanks to the policy.

Labour has also confirmed the triple lock will not be in scope for the upcoming review. But retirement experts at wealth group Aegon have warned there could be changes to the policy down the road.

Aegon pensions director Steven Cameron said: "The purpose of the review is to look at the age the state pension starts from and the role this plays in managing the long-term sustainability of the state pension.

"As other reports have shown, the triple lock puts the long-term sustainability of the state pension under huge pressure. So the conclusions from the review may be that if the triple lock continues, state pension age will have to go up further and faster than if it didn't continue."

He also warned that if the Government stands fast by its commitment to the triple lock, this will make it more likely the state pension age will continue to move up.

Mr Cameron said: "For those already receiving their state pension, any threat to the triple lock will be bad news. But for those who haven't yet reached state pension age, the consequence of an ongoing triple lock could be having to wait extra years before receiving their state pension.

"That's a hard choice, but it's one we need to face up to as a nation. Undertaking this independent review will allow the Government to set out these choices to the voting public."

Other finance experts have warned that changing the triple lock could have major implications. Lily Megson-Harvey, policy director at advisory group My Pension Expert, said: "The triple lock is clearly an expensive policy and has been a challenge for successive Governments.

"However, the Labour Government must be cautious in how this is tackled as major changes will be difficult to implement without negatively impacting retirees."

There are also plans to increase the state pension age again, from 67 to 68, between 2044 and 2046. However, there have been reports ministers were thinking about bringing forward this change, an issue which could be addressed in the upcoming review.

The full new state pension now pays £230.25 a week, or £11,973 a year. You typically need 35 years of National Insurance contributions to get the full amount.