State pension age’s slow but steady rise

Birthday cake with 66 number candle © Getty Images/iStockphoto — (Image credit: © Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Both men and women now have to wait until their 66th birthdays to claim their state pension. Changes first announced by former chancellor George Osborne finally came into effect on 6 October.

This week has therefore seen the most significant milestone in the slow but steady increase in state pension age since November 2018, when the pension age for men and women was equalised at 65.

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It’s important to recognise that the state pension age is simply the age at which you can begin drawing your state pension. It doesn’t dictate when you have to stop working and many will opt to do so at a different age. However, savers hoping to retire early should note that the minimum age at which it is possible to withdraw private pension benefits, currently 55, will increase to 57 in 2028, in line with the increase in the state pension age.

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David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.