To ask you to check your state pension age

[CryptoFascist]

Posting here for traffic.
I was checking my NI contributions online and found my projected retirement age for claiming state pension has risen.
It's always been 67.
Now it is 68.

Has anyone else's? I've not been informed this has changed, they've just done it.

For the first decade of my working life, the state pension age for women was 60. So (like many other women) I worked for years, paying NI on the basis that I could collect my state pension at 60. No one informed me personally that in fact I won’t be able to get it until 7 years later at 67. However, this information has been around for literally years. You’d have to be living under a rock to assume things never change.

and while I’m sure none of us like it, I’m not stupid, I understand that the pension system was unsustainable. And of course it’s been the same with occupational pensions. What I have to pay in has been hiked massively. I started off paying around 6% of my salary and now pay 13.5 % - to get the same terms as I did when paying less than half that! Again, it’s not what I’d ideally choose, I’d far rather be paying in less of my hard earned income every month - but I’m not daft, I realise that something which isn’t sustainable has to change.

I don't check it - no point at this stage. There are more and more elderly people and fewer and fewer children are born. I wouldn't be surprised if for the people born after 1980s the state pension age becomes 72+ by the time we get there. And there are more and people people on all kinds of benefits. The system is unsustainable.

It’s not snide remarks, it’s taking ownership. And you are notified. It’s clearly set out within Government Gateway. It’s also been very well reported in the media.
A personalised letter to your home address would come at a cost, and would be a waste of money considering its information readily accessible online.

Officially it’s 68 for me but I suspect in reality it will be 70.

Everyone was informed. It was on every news service twenty years ago, and on every pension planning letter you will have had since, every annual statement from a private pension shows when the state pension kicks in for you.

I've got 45 years NI paid already, not due state pension until 2030 but as soon as ds heads off to uni, I'm downsizing, and retiring on the proceeds.

I've been planning it for a decade or more.

Mine says 67 still.

I dont think the government needs to notify everyone. That would be unnecessarily expensive when pension stuff is widely reported and talked about and its something we should all be ensuring we are prepared for.

I don't understand how you don't know. Don't you listen to a news service or read your annual pension statement letters?

It's nearly 20 years since this was announced.

mine is 67

I'm a WASPI woman. I don't feel that way at all.

OP where have you been? It’s been common knowledge for years. I wouldn’t be relying on a state pension anyway. Make sure you have a good occupational or private pension.

The retirement age is whenever you can afford to stop working, the state pension age is whenever that kicks in. Thankfully my occupational therapy pensions are 60, 60, 65 and 65 plus I have most of my retirement savings in isas, shares and premium bonds anyway, locked away from divorce over a few years. I’m quitting working as soon as I get the max ni contributions - 3 years time, no point paying extra in

I am too. I wasn’t remotely bothered the first time my pension age was increased, I was a bit miffed when it was raised the second time with virtually no notice. This isn’t remotely comparable.

Life expectancy is now declining in the UK so that may postpone the Government from needing to hike the state pension age any further if it continues.

My husband (63 years old) got a letter the other month stating what his state pension age will be (67).

To be fair though, the ages for pensions can differ. I've been getting an occupational pension for years - I'm not even certain what age that kicked in! I'm giving up work as soon as I turn 65 and I think I get another occupational pension when I'n 65 and then a third when I turn 67 when my state pension starts. So there are differing ages, depending on when you took that pension out.

How weird, I just checked it and mine's gone down by a year (to age 66)!!! 🤯

They did a load of changes again in 2016. Before that it was 35 years contribution and I could retire as 66 and so many months

2016 they amended it all and 35 years already paid didn’t count and I had to pay extra over the past few years, and my pension age is now 66 and no months

they regularly talk about state pension age increasing to 68, and talk now of 70 if you listen to the web

Me too. I've always known this, definitely not a new thing. By the time my son comes to retire (he's 21), it will probably be in the 70's.

Do you realise that if the previous governments had not acted this country would be even more broke than it currently is?
In fact, they probably should have taken action to put it into effect years earlier but always giving at least 10 years notice of the age changing.
I have to wait until age 67. I don’t like it but I accept it.

68 - I was born in 1979.

But by then my amazing novel-writing career will have taken off and I will be drinking champagne in a my coastal retreat and my several Pekingese, a la Babs Cartland.

and lashings of blue eyeshadow I hope!!!

but always giving at least 10 years notice of the age changing.

That isn’t actually true. 300,000 Waspi women got as little as 18 months notice.

The WASPI women isn’t such as black and white an issue as some make out though. The WASPI campaign started out as opposing the changes to equalize pension ages between men and women. Most right thinking people understand that the inequality was extremely unfair in the first place. It was totally illogical that women should reach state pension age 5 years before men.

the only issue where there are grounds for complaint is the amount of notice when the changes were brought forward, but from reading about the issue you can see that in terms of financial loss, the evidence showed that it was comparatively little for those women in the age group.

I think it’s unfortunate that the WASPI campaign got hi jacked by a lot of vociferous women who just didn’t like the fact the qualifying age was equalised. They wanted to retire at 60, and planned to do so and disagreed with the fact it was raised at all. Fact is, tens of thousands of us started out working lives with pension age of 60, but we understand that the system wasn’t sustainable and changes had to happen.

I completely agree. The point I was making is that some of us who completely agreed with the change were given very little notice of the second change - certainly a lot less than ten years.

Mine is 66 and 3 weeks (ish).
I’ve lived overseas for many years and it’s common knowledge to all Brits.
I'm sure you haven’t been singled out OP.