Study: UK pension age may have to rise to 71

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - UK workers may have to wait until 71 years old to access a state pension because of an ageing population, a think tank said yesterday. — Reuters pic

LONDON, Feb 6 — UK workers may have to wait until 71 years old to access a state pension because of an ageing population, a think tank said yesterday.

Workers in the UK currently assess a pension aged 66, though this will rise to 67 from 2026 and to 68 by 2044.

International Longevity Centre UK on Monday forecast this could hit 71 years old from 2050.

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“In the UK, state pension age would need to be 70 or 71 compared with 66 now to maintain the status quo of the constant number of workers per state pensioner,” according to the report which added this was an issue affecting countries worldwide.

“However, if instead we define the UK’s working adult populations as 20 to 64 years, to account for time spent in full time education, the state pension age might need to hit age 70-plus as early as 2040,” it said.

The study noted that people are facing ill health earlier, meaning workers are retiring long before they reach state-pension age.

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In turn, the government receives less tax to fund the pensions, it added.

By comparison, in France the state pension age last year increased to 64 from 62, sparking mass protests throughout the country. — AFP