By Linda Howard

Copyright dailyrecord

The State Pension age is set to start rising from 66 to 67 next year, with the increase due to be completed for all men and women born between March 6, 1961 and April 5, 1977, by 2028. The planned change to the official age of retirement has been in legislation since 2014 with a further rise from 67 to 68 set to be implemented between 2044 and 2046. However, a former employee at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued a stark warning over the planned rises. During her 42 years at the DWP, Sandra Wrench worked on the State Pension and benefits sections, but she warns of the “difficulty for some people remaining in work until that time”. Sandra told the Daily Record: “People in heavy manual work may find it very difficult to remain in work until 66, leave alone any older age. I worked in an office, yet I was actually forced out of work, by the actions of DWP management, so there is no guarantee you can remain in work until State Pension age, regardless of what type of work you do.” The ex-DWP employee went on to explain how workplaces have been adapted for people with a disability or health condition, and ever-advancing technology can help those with additional needs, but employers have to be prepared to accommodate disability in the workplace, especially with older employees. Sandra first raised her concerns over the rise in State Pension age and the impact on older workers during the first State Pension review in 2022. She has also submitted evidence to the current review, which is due to conclude this month. She continued: “Recently Tom McPhail, a pensions expert, commented on taking the State Pension away from people under the age of 75, and living on your savings until that age, when you can claim your State Pension. “You take someone like myself who had to work part time for 25 years, so savings will be limited. Women may often work part time due to caring responsibilities, and some women may leave work in their 60s to look after elderly parents. You might have some savings but you may well need this money for care in later life.” Over the past year, the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 years has increased by 0.7 percentage points to 71.6 per cent. This is just below the record high in 2019 of 72.6 per cent. The average age of exit from the workforce has also risen to 65.8 years in 2025 for men and 64.7 years for women. Around 876,000 people aged 50 to 64 are either actively seeking work, or are inactive but are willing or would like to work. Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown also believes life expectancy will play a part in any future State Pension age rises. She explained: “Our working lives are getting ever longer, with the average age of workforce exit on the rise. It’s not just down to people’s enthusiasm for work, it’s primarily caused by increases to the state pension age – a change that has particularly impacted the working lives of women. With the State Pension age soon to start its rise to 67 it will be interesting to see whether we see working lives continue to extend. “Enabling people to work for longer can spell good news for people’s retirement planning, giving them longer to build their pensions or vary their working patterns by going part time.However, there are significant challenges – most notably healthy life expectancy. Not everyone is actually physically able to continue to work.” The retirement expert continued: “Poor health can also strike much earlier that you think. According to ONS data 44.7 per cent of people who are classed as economically inactive between the age of 50-64 say it’s because they are sick, injured or disabled. “Another major challenge is of course caring responsibilities – an issue that disproportionately affects women with more than 18 per cent of women saying it’s a reason why they cannot look for work compared to 7.7 per cent of men. “These issues have enormous consequences for those who need to leave the workforce in their fifties. Shorter working lives mean less time to build up a workplace pension – and more time when people need to rely on existing assets. With the State Pension age on the rise how do they bridge the gap? It’s an issue that will no doubt be an important part of thinking around the ongoing review into the State Pension age.” Ms Morrissey also highlighted how the focus on State Pension age should encourage everyone to consider their own position if they were forced to finish work earlier, and whether there’s anything they can do to protect themselves – from building a bigger pension to investing alongside their pension in an ISA they can access if they need to before their personal pension is available. Helen continued: “For those who exit the workforce for caring responsibilities, it shows the vital importance of enabling flexible working to enable people to balance work and caring – as well as the importance of good quality affordable childcare to make it easier for parents to keep working where they can. “The 50 plus population still has a lot to offer the workplace, and current challenges risk a significant loss of expertise for businesses. It also risks forcing people to stop work at a time when they still want to contribute. Allowing extra flexibility for older workers can mean both parties continue to benefit.” Under the Pensions Act 2007 the State Pension age for men and women will increase from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046. The Pensions Act 2014 provides for a regular review of the State Pension age, at least once every five years. The review will be based around the idea people should be able to spend a certain proportion of their adult life drawing a State Pension. The UK Government recently announced a new Pension Commission to investigate how to boost pension saving with its findings due to be published in 2027. Areas for consideration will include auto-enrolment saving rates, boosting saving among groups such as the self-employed and a review of the State Pension age. Your State Pension age is the earliest age you can start receiving your State Pension. It may be different to the age you can get a workplace or personal pension. Anyone of any age can use the online tool at GOV.UK to check their State Pension age, which can be an essential part of planning your retirement. You can use the State Pension age tool to check: Check your State Pension age online here.