The reform could benefit some workers but there is still a ‘risk’, one expert has warned
The state pension age is the earliest a person in the UK can claim their state pension entitlement. From the start of April 2026, it will be increasing from 66 to 67 in a phased rollout continuing for the next two years.
Future state pension age rises are also still under review, leaving middle-aged workers uncertain about exactly when they will be able to retire with their state pension. While it has caused some concern, one expert believes some people could benefit from the current and future age rises but warned workers to educate themselves.
Dr Kathy Hartley, Interim Subject Head, Human Resource Management Group at the University of Salford, explained that state pension age increases could mean some people have more time to build up their retirement funds and make themselves more financially secure in retirement by working longer than their predecessors may have.
She said: “In one sense, some workers have been choosing to remain in employment beyond what was once the norm for some time now, particularly since the default retirement age of 65 was removed back in 2011.
“For some, this is clearly beneficial financially, even if it involves reduced hours or, in some cases, less strenuous forms of work, especially in the context of rising living costs. Others remain in roles they find intrinsically interesting, feel motivated and healthy, and see no reason to stop what they have been doing.”
Even in these cases where extra years in the workforce could benefit workers, Dr Hartley noted there’s a risk it may create for employers as an employee’s performance and health may start causing more disruptions as they age.
Another group that may benefit from spending more years in the workforce are those that have made mid-life career transitions, as the expert noted that people over the age of 60 only just beginning “new starts” are becoming more common than before.
She added: “Some older workers decide to take on new challenges, perhaps working part-time at what they have done for years while combining this with other forms of work that may have interested them for some time, effectively creating a new or ‘portfolio career’ later in life.”
Regardless of where people stand in their careers and when they expect to access their state pension, the expert warned: “One thing that many of us need, however, is greater ‘financial literacy’, or simply to pay closer attention to the state of our pension pot and what kind of future it is likely to provide.
“For more of us to have genuine choice over whether to stay in the workplace for longer, financial understanding and planning will be key, as will employer support in relation to flexible working and adjustments. Such support has risen in recent years, driven by various changes in employment law, and the need for this – along with open conversations about employees’ longer-term aspirations – is unlikely to lessen.”
Dr Hartley admitted that for young people just entering the workforce, it’s very difficult to even anticipate what the state pension age will be when they hit their 60s and she revealed this is already being reflected in the workforce.
She added: “Younger people (are) less inclined to rush into paid employment than previous generations. Pressure on entry-level jobs, combined with expectations of working into one’s later years (70 and beyond,) may help to explain some of this hesitancy.”
