MPs have condemned the Government's response to this year's increase in the state pension age as “impractical and cruel”, following warnings that more than 100,000 people could be plunged into poverty.
The Labour chairwoman of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, Debbie Abrahams, made the criticism in a letter to pensions minister Torsten Bell. The Government had suggested that people affected by the rise to 67 could be offered “tailored employment support” to help them find a job.
Ms Abrahams said: “Offering the prospect of a job to someone in the year before state pension age, who has been waiting years for a hip, knee or cataract replacement, is impractical and cruel.”
Campaigners accuse ministers of abandoning older people
Campaigners accused ministers of abandoning people who were forced to quit work due to ill-health or caring for a loved one. Eamonn Donaghy, chief executive of the National Federation of Occupational Pensioners and a spokesperson for Later Life Ambitions, said: “Raising the state pension age can’t be treated simply as a question of keeping people in work for longer.
“The Government must recognise that some people cannot extend their working lives and ensure they are not pushed into poverty as a consequence.
“The Government is failing to address the very real risk that raising the state pension age to 67 will push more older people into poverty. Offering additional employment support is all well and good, but it is no substitute for meaningful financial protection for those who are simply unable to work any longer.”
Impact of the rise to 67
The state pension began rising gradually from 66 in April, and will reach 67 in April 2028. The Commons Work and Pensions Committee has warned that making people wait longer can affect their quality of life for years to come.
The extra 12 months before they can claim the state pension increases the period they are forced to depend on savings, which might otherwise have supported them in retirement.
Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that the last age change, from 65 to 66 between 2018 and 2020, increased the number of people aged 65 in poverty by 100,000. Experts at Age UK and Independent Age warned MPs that the figure among 66-year-olds would be higher this time.
In the letter to Mr Bell, Ms Abrahams said: “We now have a clearer picture of the likely impact of the increase to 67. The previous state pension age rise – from 65 to 66, between late 2018 and 2020 – caused poverty rates among 65-year-olds to more than double. We feared that the impact may be even greater this time, given that those affected would be a year older.”
Calls for increased benefits
Only 42% of the population are in work at the age of 65, and just 29% at 66. While some wealthier people choose to retire, many people on lower incomes are forced to quit work because they or their spouses are in poor health.
The committee has called on the Department for Work and Pensions to increase benefits such as Universal Credit for people approaching state pension age. About 800,000 people become eligible for the state pension each year, and the figure is rising as the number of older people in the population grows.
