NEWS ON THE STATE PENSION

More and more people are reaching what used to be the Basic State Pension Retirement Age (60 for women and 65 for men), only to find the goal posts having been moved with 66 being now the State Pension age for most. And the Autumn Budget made it clear that the goal posts will be wheeled back even more in the future with those now in their 50s given the expectation of working until age 67 and those in their 40s having to work to 68 before the State Pension kicks in. It is not good news but the fact is that with the UK population having a larger and larger proportion of older men and women, the Government cannot afford to pay the State Pension from an earlier age. To some degree this news may help focus many on accumulating their own private pension savings. Currently the legislation allows those benefits to be taken from age 55, and no-one is pushing for that age to be increased – at least for now!