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What do you think will happen to the state pension in the future?

255 replies

Darkling1 · 09/07/2025 11:29

I’ve heard people say that it may be means tested in the future. I’m in my late 20s and wonder what the state pension will look like years from now.

I’ve recently started to invest a small amount into a SIPP each month. I can’t help but worry about the state pension, especially as the age keeps rising.

I think the age of state pension will continue to rise over time. I can see it being pushed to 75 by the time I’m eligible to claim.

What do you think will happen to it?

OP posts:
Woodchipping · 09/07/2025 11:57

they can’t means test it as this would disincentives people to save. The triple lock has to end. It’s totally unaffordable. Public sector pensions will be slashed. They are also totally unaffordable. There is no way the pitiful amount people in the public sector save into pensions is enough, and private sector workers will not be happy if we have no public services as all money goes to pay public sector pensioners pensions other workers can only dream of.

Autumn1990 · 09/07/2025 11:52

I don’t think they will be able to push it much older. Too many people will be too ill. There are too many people like me with a house but no private pension because we’ve prioritised the house, I guess if it goes much older I’ll just be poor in my old age. Anyone renting who is older may as well just claim benefits.
Society/economy isn’t working for most people atm

Papyrophile · 09/07/2025 11:52

This is why auto-enrolment was introduced in 2012. Gordon Brown killed the traditional final salary schemes that covered (mostly) skilled people by removing the pension dividend credit in his first budget, and companies responded by moving to DC schemes. Public sector pensions are still fairly generous, but some younger employees -- junior doctors, for example, might welcome pay increases now rather than 25-30% employer pension contributions.

I think the triple lock has to go, but it will still have to remain linked to some measure of inflation or average wage. Despite all the frothing here about wealthy pensioners, our state pension remains among the lowest in Europe, and single or divorced women on the pre-2016 rate are among the poorest people in society. My late DM worked until she was 78 as a mental health carer because if she hadn't, she would have lived hand-to-mouth.

Titasaducksarse · 09/07/2025 11:48

I think it will become means tested. If it is like Australia then I wouldn't have an issue as it is pretty generous in terms of house value and savings that they test you against.
Knowing our fecking Government though my worry would be a really low threshold. I hope we'd all riot if that were the case.

Eviebeans · 09/07/2025 11:39

bearing in mind that current workers are basically paying the pension for today’s retirees I think that is going to come a point where people are going to protest about paying their national insurance contributions because why would they pay for people now in the knowledge that they may not get a state pension themselves when it reaches their time? Going forward I can see that people would want to save their money privately