DWP boss gives new indication when State Pension age rise to 68 is likely to happen

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Work and Pensions Secretary has indicated that the State Pension age is not likely to be raised to 68 until the 2040s - but it is not a decision to be made by the current UK Government.

Mel Stride MP said there was “no reason why you need to take the decision now” on any change, having pledged to inform voters 10 years ahead of time.A State Pension age increase from 66 to 67 is set to occur between 2026 and 2028, a planned move that has been in UK legislation since 2014.

In a statement to the Commons in March, the DWP boss chose to delay any consideration about increasing the State Pension minimum age to 68, following widespread reports that it would be rising earlier than scheduled.Speaking at a political correspondents lunch in Westminster on Thursday, he said that, while the decision had been deferred until after the next general election, which is widely expected to take place next year, he anticipated the increase could happen in “2040 or thereabouts”.An independent review by former Confederation of British Industry (CBI) director-general John Cridland in 2017 recommended the State Pension age be raised to 68 in 2037-39, while a follow-up study by Baroness Neville-Rolfe this year said the timetable should be pushed back to 2041-43.Mr Stride, asked when was the earliest he could envisage it being changed from 67 to 68, said: “I think it is fair to say that the earliest would be Cridland’s suggestion of 2037, but that was predicated on different life expectancy data.“And in fact if you applied what we know now to Cridland’s methodology, you would end up with a date in the 2050s actually.“Neville-Rolfe came in with something in the 2040s, so I suspect it is in that range of 2040 or thereabouts.“But it will be for