The UK government has launched a call for evidence on the third State Pension age review.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has appointed Suzy Morrissey to prepare an independent report for the government to consider ahead of the third review of the State Pension age.
She will make recommendations for a framework for the government to use when considering future State Pension age arrangements, “in light of the long-term demographic pressures the country faces”.
The call for evidence asks questions around the advantages and disadvantages of linking the State Pension age to life expectancy, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using the State Pension age to manage the cost of the benefit long-term, among other questions.
It comes as recent research has found that the majority of adults (94%) in the UK see the State Pension as an entitlement rather than a benefit – suggesting they do not see it as something that could be reduced or taken away from them.
The poll conducted by Just Group also found more than half (58%) of people over 66 think the State Pension is affordable over the long-term, with just 18% disagreeing.
“As a result of rising longevity and dropping birth-rates, it is estimated that a quarter of the UK’s population will be aged 65 or older by 2050. This means that the burden of funding the State Pension will fall on a shrinking proportion of working people,” said Stephen Lowe, group communications director at Just Group.
“If the government wants to avoid increasing taxes or means-testing the State Pension, then it may have to look at options either to increase the age at which people receive the State Pension or to moderate the amount paid.
“Neither of these are political vote winners – as we have seen with the winter fuel and disability payments, once a benefit is introduced, it becomes extremely difficult to reduce or withdraw that support.”
