| Chancellor George Osborne
has announced a faster than expected rise
in the state pension age as part of his
October Spending Review. Mr Osborne told
the House of Commons that the state
pension age for men and women would reach
66 by the year 2020.
This will involve a gradual increase in
the state pension age from 65 to 66,
starting in 2018. It will also accelerate
the increase in the female pension age
already under way since this April.
Mr Osborne said: “Raising the state
pension age is what many countries are now
doing and will by the end of the next
Parliament save over £5 billion a year –
money which will be used to provide a more
generous basic state pension as we manage
demographic pressures.”
Following the 20 October announcement,
it has been widely reported that the
government plans a Green Paper to increase
the state pension to around £140 per week
with means tested top-ups scrapped.
Currently, the full basic state pension
is £97.65 per week for a single person and
£156.15 per week for a married couple,
unless the couple's individual state
pensions are higher.
The Green Paper is expected to be
published before the end of the year.
The previous Labour government had
planned to raise the age at which men
could claim their state pension to 66 by
2024 and by 2026 for women.
LINK:
State pension and retirement |
