A petition calling for the State Pension age to be lowered has passed 10,000 signatures on the Parliament website, triggering a mandatory official response from the Department for Work and Pensions. The petition argues that reducing the pension age could free up jobs for younger people.
The proposal is contentious, as the government is currently raising the pension age, a move that has drawn criticism over concerns it could push many into poverty.
Petition's case for lowering the pension age
The petition states: “Lower the State Pension age for workers so young adults that don’t currently work have more chance of getting a job.”
It adds: “The longer people are having to work the fewer jobs there are out there for young adults. If the Government lowered the State Pension age we believe it could encourage retirement so that employers might take on a young adult to fill the space – that would help young people get jobs and also help the older generation that have done their bit for society and get to enjoy the last few years of their life.”
According to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) and House of Commons Library data, 751,000 young people aged 16 to 24 were unemployed in the UK between May and July 2026, a youth unemployment rate of 16.4%. Earlier this year, analysis of survey data, including from the ONS, by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that 16- to 21-year-olds were less confident about being successful than a decade ago. The number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neets) recently exceeded 1 million for the first time in a decade.
Concerns over the rise to 67 and 68
Despite the petition, the government is currently raising the pension age to 68. The state pension age has started a phased rise, gradually increasing in steps from 66 to 67, affecting new pensioners.
The Work and Pensions Committee said in July it is backing calls for the Government to increase universal credit for 66-year-olds. It said ministers should consult on the change with a view to putting it in place by the end of 2026 as a temporary measure, allowing time to develop longer-term support.
There is evidence the longer wait for their state pension will “harm” 66-year-olds who are unable to keep working until 67, the committee said. The report said: “For many, this will be a year of hardship, on inadequate working age benefits, potentially depleting savings they were relying on to support them in retirement.”
Committee calls for increased universal credit support
The committee said a growing number of 66-year-olds may have to rely on the standard rate of universal credit of around £425 a month for longer, despite worsening health. Its report added: “On balance we support increasing the level of universal credit (UC) for all recipients in the year before state pension age because it has a greater impact in reducing poverty and hardship.”
“We recommend it as a short-term approach, to mitigate the impact of the increase to 67, which has already started. We propose using UC on the basis that it should enable support to be provided quickly. We recognise that the impact on work incentives is a consideration. However, the proposal is for a modest increase in support in the year before state pension age. Those out of the labour market at this point in their lives are very unlikely to return to it.”
People on low incomes can apply for pension credit, but this support is only available once people have reached state pension age. The committee said this leaves many pre-pensioners, particularly those with health issues, caring responsibilities or long histories in labour-intensive jobs, relying on the savings they may have set aside for retirement.
There is also a geographical consideration, with ill-health and disability concentrated in the most deprived areas, where there are fewer economic opportunities, the committee said. The report said: “The impacts of the rise to 67 will be very uneven. For many unable to keep working, particularly on low incomes and in the most deprived areas, it will mean hardship as they wait longer for a state pension.”
“Their shorter life expectancy means that they can then expect to receive it for a shorter time than those in the least deprived areas. We know that the last increase – from 65 to 66 – resulted in absolute poverty rates among 65-year-olds more than doubling.”
The report also said: “We were concerned to hear that, while later working is generally good for health when it is voluntary, this is not the case when it is due to financial necessity, particularly for people having to continue to in physically demanding jobs.”
It added: “Based on the evidence we have received, there is a clear justification for providing additional social security support for those unable to keep working in the years approaching state pension age. While pension age rises have been justified on grounds of fairness between generations – each generation should expect to spend a similar proportion of adult life contributing to and receiving the state pension – fairness within generations is also important.”
Committee chairwoman Debbie Abrahams said: “We can’t just allow people who are already struggling as they approach pension age to be forced to choose between continuing work in poor health or prolonging their poverty as they wait for their state pension to kick in.”
“This is not the later life that anyone wants or to see their loved ones endure after providing for decades. We should recognise that pre-pensioners have greater needs and greater barriers into employment due to ill-health, age discrimination, lack of opportunity to upskill. More than half of people are not in paid work in their mid-60s, and they’re not likely to get it if they’ve been effectively written off. Additional social security payments are essential in reducing the compounding effects of the lottery of life and the state pension age increase.”
