The state pension is going through some phased changes that will be affecting everyone turning 66 over the next year
The state pension age is rising from 66 to 67, leaving some to work for an extra year than they may have planned for before they can access their state pension. The increase will be rolled out gradually, with a direct impact on everyone who is celebrating their 66th birthday between April 6, 2026 and March 5, 2027.
State pension age is the earliest age at which you can claim state pension, although you don’t have to claim it at this age and you can still defer your payments to a later date. The state pension age has been 66 since October 2020 until now, as each person turning 66 between now and March 5, 2027 may have a different state pension age due to how the rollout is being phased in.
The first group of people affected by the change turned 66 in April and will start becoming eligible for their state pension in May. Meanwhile, those turning 66 in May will have to wait another two months before receiving their state pension.
State pension age according to your birthday:
- 6 April 1960 – 5 May 1960: 66 years and 1 month
- 6 May 1960 – 5 June 1960: 66 years and 2 months
- 6 June 1960 – 5 July 1960: 66 years and 3 months
- 6 July 1960 – 5 August 1960: 66 years and 4 months
- 6 August 1960 – 5 September 1960: 66 years and 5 months
- 6 September 1960 – 5 October 1960: 66 years and 6 months
- 6 October 1960 – 5 November 1960: 66 years and 7 months
- 6 November 1960 – 5 December 1960: 66 years and 8 months
- 6 December 1960 – 5 January 1961: 66 years and 9 months
- 6 January 1961 – 5 February 1961: 66 years and 10 months
- 6 February 1961 – 5 March 1961: 66 years and 11 months
- 6 March 1961 – 5 April 1977: 67 years
Everyone born after March 5, 1961 will have a state pension age of 67. The Gov.uk website also has a state pension age calculator where people can double check what their minimum state pension age could be.
The state pension age is constantly under review, with further increases expected in the 2040s. Officials say this in order to keep the threshold aligned with life expectancy figures in the UK to ensure that everyone can spend the roughly same proportion of their life in retirement.
Addressing the Work and Pensions Committee on March 18, Minister for Pensions Torsten Bell explained that the state pension age changes is meant to keep up with the rising life expectancy figures in the UK to ensure that each generation of people can spend “at least a third” of their life in retirement. He pointed out: “At the point which the state pension age was first introduced, only about half of people were expected to even get to state pension age.
“It’s 93% now. We want to make sure we have a sustainable state pension in the longer term. However, he added that raising the state pension age “never feels like an easy decision”.
Everyone affected by any changes to their State Pension age should receive a letter from the DWP well in advance. Being aware of these changes in advance will allow people to shift their retirement plan accordingly.
Currently, the new state pension is worth £241.30 a week but this is only for people who fulfill the 35 qualifying years criteria. A qualifying year is a year in which you either paid National Insurance contributions, received National Insurance credits or bought voluntary contributions.
If you have less than 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance record, you’ll only get a portion of the state pension rate and those with less than 10 qualifying year won’t be eligible for any new state pension.
According to analysis from Royal London in 2023, only around half of the 3.4 million people receiving the new state pension were eligible to claim the full amount.
