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State pension figures reveal a huge disparity in the amount people receive depending on where they live in the UK. The state pension age is currently 66 for both men and women, but this will rise to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028. Experts at pension provider Standard Life compared the 67 access age with life expectancy for men and women across the UK, to work out how many years' state pension payments people will get. Women in the affluent London area of Kensington and Chelsea have the highest life expectancy at over 86, in stark contrast to men in Blackpool, who live the shortest lives at just over 73. This means that women in Kensington and Chelsea receive nearly 20 years of state pension payments, while men in Blackpool get just over six years' worth. With the full new state pension expected to increase to £241.30 a week or £12,547 a year, this could result in a difference of more than £165,000 in payments. Catherine Foot, director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, said: "While raising the state pension age further and faster than currently planned would impact everyone, it's clear that the impact wouldn't be felt equally, given the wide variations we see in life expectancy across the country. "What's more, in some parts of the UK, people are more likely to stop working earlier due to health conditions, disabilities or caring responsibilities - meaning they may struggle to reach the age at which the benefit becomes available. "These structural inequalities deserve close attention in the current independent review of the state pension age and future policy debates that follow it." The state pension age is scheduled to rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046. A previous review of the policy recommended accelerating the timetable for this increase. Labour announced this year there would be another independent review of the state pension age, examining where it should be set. This is how long men will get the state pension, depending on the region where they live: This is how long women will get the state pension, depending on the region where they live
