State pension age rise could be announced in just MONTHS with millions forced to work for longer

A change to the state pension could be announced in just months as ministers await the outcome of a new report considering whether to increase the national retirement age.

Last November Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed the Government had commissioned a report to look into the cost of the state pension and intergenerational fairness.

At present the state pension age is 66 and is due to rise to 67 in 2028 and then to 68 between 2044-2046.

The latter increase impacts all those born in or after April 1977, but ministers are now considering bringing forwards to date of the change.

The review is set to be published in the first half of this year.

Explaining the review, a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said at the time: "As the number of people over state pension age increases, due to a growing population and people on average living longer, the government needs to make sure that decisions on how to manage its costs are, robust, fair and transparent for taxpayers now and in the future.

"It must also ensure that as the population becomes older, the state pension continues to provide the foundation for retirement planning and financial security."

The Government is expected to have to give at least 10 years' notice before implementing a change in the state pension age to 86, but a fast-tracked alteration would impact millions of Britons currently in work.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride admitted last year that a change in the timetable would be "pretty hairy".

A review of the state pension in 2017 led by British business executive John Cridland concluded adults should expect to spend an average of a thirds of their adult life in retirement.

Life expectancy rises have stagnated in recent years, making the case for changing the state pension age harder.

Stride told a committee of MPs: "I think there are various moving parts in assessing where we should go with the SPA.

"One of them is life expectancy and more precisely, what proportion of your life should we expect people to have in retirement as opposed to not in retirement?"