A new graph shows the age you will need to reach to claim the State Pension, based on what year you were born. The State Pension Age is determined by a number of factors, including the average life expectancy in the UK. The State Pension Age is currently 66 years for both men and women, but it will gradually increase over many months, starting this April and concluding in 2028. The State Pension is an entitlement in the UK for people who have reached State Pension Age and have paid at least ten years’ worth of National Insurance throughout their working life.
Investment firm AJ Bell has created a new chart to make it easier for people to determine when they will now reach the State Pension Age. The firm said that many Brits will be « inevitably » confused as the phased changes come into effect. Those affected should receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about a month before they are to start receiving State Pension payments. « Many of those affected during the transition will inevitably be completely unaware that this is happening and have to plug an income gap, albeit potentially only for a few months, as a result, » said Hannah Willford, an investment expert at AJ Bell.
The new method, being implemented between April 2026 and 2028, measures age by years and months, rather than just years. For example, someone born between April 6, 1960, and May 5, 1960, will now reach State Pension Age when they are 66 years and 1 month old.
After that, people who were born between May 6, 1960, and June 5, 1960, will reach the State Pension Age when they are 66 years and 2 months old.
The gradual change continues until we reach people who were born on or after March 6, 1961, who will reach the State Pension Age when they turn 67 years old. There will also be a further increase to age 68, but that isn’t expected until between April 2044 and April 2046.
« While the increase in the state pension age from 66 will come as a shock to many, this is very much the beginning rather than the end of this story, » Wilford added. « Under current plans, the state pension age will rise again to 68 between 2044 and 2046, but there is every chance this government or a future government will need to bring it forward – and possibly set out plans to increase the age further still.
« With the total annual bill for state pensions now knocking on the door of £150 billion and the ‘triple-lock’ threatening to ratchet that cost up over time, this is a painful nettle that will need to be grasped sooner or later. »
GB News then created a graph that displays these changes clearly, showing the drastic increase in age over the next couple of decades. With the third State Pension Age review results expected in 2029, the graph shows that the age could increase to as much as 70.
