The state pension age is officially increasing from 66 to 67 over the next two years, with another group of retirees impacted this October. The rise is being phased in gradually over three tax years, depending on date of birth, rather than applying a 'cliff edge' for all state pensioners aged 66 this year.
Several groups have already been affected, and the fourth group is impacted this month. The age at which retirees can claim their pension benefits from the state began increasing from April 6, 2026, for people born in certain date ranges. This increase was enacted in 2014, but it is not happening at the same time for all pensioners.
Who is affected in October
The key groups affected in October are those born between June 6, 1960 and July 5, 1960, who will get their pension at 66 years and 3 months, which is September to October 2026, whereas previously they would have been able to get their pension in June or July.
Those born between July 6, 1960 and August 5, 1960 will instead be able to get it at 66 years and 4 months, which is November to December 2026. This means they will have to wait until after October to be eligible, even though they would have already been claiming before October under the old rules.
How the phase-in works
The monthly incremental phase-in has been set based on blocks of monthly birth date ranges, beginning in April 1960. Some state pensioners will receive their state pension at age 66 and 1 month, all the way up in gradual one-month increments to those who will get theirs aged 66 and 11 months, and finally pensioners who will not receive theirs until age 67 in two years' time.
Those born between April 6, 1960 and May 5, 1960 get their state pension from 66 years and 1 month, meaning they were eligible from May 6 to June 6, 2026, whereas without the age rise it would have been April. Then those born from May 6 to June 5, 1960 will get their pension from when they are aged 66 years and 2 months, which is July to August 2026.
Government guidance and future review
In its guidance, the government says: “The Pensions Act 2014 brought the increase in the state pension age from 66 to 67 forward by eight years. The state pension age for men and women will now increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028.”
The government also changed the way the increase is phased so that rather than reaching state pension age on a specific date, people born between April 6, 1960 and March 5, 1961 will reach their state pension age at 66 years and the specified number of months.
Separately, the government announced that the state pension age is being reviewed again, earlier than is mandatory. The last pension age review was completed in 2023 and is only required to be redone every six years. Due to pressure on the public purse, the pension benefits age is being looked at again sooner than planned. It means the next pension age increase to 68, due in the 2040s, could be brought forward depending on what the review concludes.
