State Pension age rise to 67: who is affected and what to expect
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that the State Pension age is being increased from 66 to 67, with the change phased in gradually between 2026 and 2028. Anyone born after April 5, 1960 will have to wait longer than their 66th birthday before they can begin receiving the State Pension, as reported by the Daily Express.
The increase does not happen all at once. Instead, the qualifying age rises month by month depending on a person's exact date of birth. For example, those born between April 6, 1960 and May 5, 1960 will reach State Pension age at 66 years and one month, while those born between May 6 and June 5 must wait until they are 66 years and two months. According to the Daily Express, this gradual pattern continues for subsequent birth-date groups, with anyone born between March 6, 1961 and April 5, 1977 currently scheduled to reach State Pension age on their 67th birthday.
The move to raise the age to 67 was legislated under the Pensions Act 2014 and is being phased in between April 2026 and March 2028. A further rise from 67 to 68 is already written into law for between 2044 and 2046, which would affect people born from April 6, 1977 onwards, although the timetable remains subject to government reviews.
The DWP has also reminded people that the State Pension is not paid automatically when they reach the qualifying age. The Pension Service normally contacts people around four months before they become eligible with details of how to claim, according to the Daily Express.
The State Pension age is regularly reviewed to take account of factors including changes in life expectancy and long-term sustainability. The government launched its third State Pension age review in 2025. People who are unsure of their exact State Pension age can use the government's online calculator.
Public perception: a majority see the change as unfair
While the DWP presents the timeline as a confirmed policy, new research from the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement suggests that among those most immediately affected, the change is widely seen as unfair. According to the research, as reported by Birmingham Live, three in five people aged 60 to 65 now think their own State Pension age is unfair. This cohort is the first to be affected by the existing increase from 66 to 67.
The research also found that seven in ten people aged 60 to 65 think the threshold should remain unchanged regardless of rises in average life expectancy, with fewer than a quarter (23%) supporting a rise.
Catherine Foot, director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, said: "As our population ages, the country is faced with fiscal challenges that involve difficult trade-offs. The State Pension is often central to these debates, but our research shows how strongly people feel about changes to the State Pension age. A majority of those most immediately affected by the ongoing increase to 67 believe the change is unfair and do not support further rises linked to life expectancy. This is particularly true for women, who are significantly less likely than men to have adequate private retirement savings."
She added that if further increases to the State Pension age are considered, policymakers will need to ensure people have sufficient opportunity to prepare, and should also take action to address the gap in private savings.
Could the rise to 68 come sooner?
In addition to the confirmed increase to 67, there are reports that the Labour government is considering bringing forward the rise to 68. Birmingham Live reported that Treasury officials have indicated to the Office for Budget Responsibility that the current policy assumption is to move the increase to as early as 2037, rather than the legislated 2044 to 2046 window. This remains a reported assumption rather than a confirmed policy change.
Foot also spoke to the need for public engagement on such decisions, suggesting that deliberative democracy, such as Citizens' Assemblies, can help people engage with complex social and fiscal issues.