Rise in pension age delayed

The government has decided not to accelerate a rise in the state pension age from 67 to 68 despite a 2017 review that recommended the change be brought forward from the mid-2040s to between 2037 and 2039.

The proposed move was criticised by charities such as Age UK for having potentially “devastating consequences for millions of people in their 50s and early 60s who are already struggling financially”.

The government has accepted recommendations from a second independent review that at least 10 years’ notice be given before any change, meaning a rise in the 2030s is now unlikely, although it hasn’t been scrapped altogether. The Institute of Fiscal Studies said that lower life expectancy among men and women in their 50s may also have influenced the decision.