Millions of Brits in their 20s could have to work until they are 70 under new pension review
New figures last night said the official retirement age may have to go from 66 to 70 by 2056
MILLIONS of Brits in their Twenties faces having to work until they are 70 under a radical Government review of state pensions.
New figures last night said the official retirement age may have to go from 66 to 70 by 2056 because of rising life expectancy.
And Theresa May was urged to axe David Cameron’s ‘Triple Lock’ that guarantees OAPs a minimum 2.5 per cent rise in the state payout each year.
Ex-business chief John Cridland said huge changes were needed to keep a lid on the spiralling cost of the £100 billion a year state pension.
He said the state pension should go up in line with earnings after 2020 as it would be cheaper for the Treasury.
Reporting the findings of his review he said: “We recommend that the Triple Lock is withdrawn in the next Parliament.”
The former CBI chief was asked last year to conduct a review of the state pension given Britain’s mammoth welfare bill.
A separate Government Actuary published yesterday recommended how the official retirement age should climb over the next four decades.
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Currently, the official retirement age is set to go up to 66 in 2020, 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2048. But Mr Cridland said the final change to 68 should be brought forward by seven years to 2039 as people needed to work for longer.
The Government’s actuary went further and said the retirement age should increase again to 69 in the 2040s and 70 by the mid-2050s.
This would mean everyone in their twenties working longer than ever before.
Steve Webb, former Pensions Minister and now policy chief at Royal London, said: “Buried in these technical reports are some dynamite recommendations that will change the way we think about work and retirement.
“Under one of the options on the table more than seven million people in their twenties could face a pension age of at least 70.”
He added: “Meanwhile people who have already retired could lose the ‘triple lock’ pension protection that they have enjoyed since 2010.
“We urgently need to give people greater certainty so that they can plan their future with confidence and bring to an end this period of constant change in pension ages.”
The Sun yesterday revealed the introduction of the Triple Lock has inflated the Government’s state pension bill by £28 billion – compared with if the payout had gone up in line with average earnings since 2010.