State pension age should not rise any further, says TUC

 13 October 2016

The TUC has warned the independent review of the State Pension age, which has published an interim report today (Thursday), that any further rise to the state pension age would be unfair and unhelpful to the challenges ahead.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “More working people rely on the state pension than any other form of retirement saving. We must make sure it remains the bedrock of financial security in retirement.

“The review has made a good start identifying the challenges ahead, and making sure that the needs of carers and the self-employed are not overlooked. It is welcome that the review recognises how important the triple lock has been in helping disadvantaged groups.

“We should do all we can to allow more people to continue working in their later years. But hiking up the retirement age will not help, especially in parts of the UK with lower life expectancy. We should instead remove barriers faced by those who choose to work into later life.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:
- The latest findings from the UK Wealth and Assets survey for Dec 2015 show that 82% of people expect the state pension to provide for them in retirement, compared to 62% for occupational and personal pensions (which has risen from 59% in Jul 2014 thanks to auto-enrolment) and 42% for saving and investment. See figure 3: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/articles/earlyindicatorestimatesfromthewealthandassetssurvey/july2014todec2015

- The UK is already on track to have the highest retirement age of OECD countries by 2060.

- In September 2016 the TUC published Postponing the pension: are we all working longer? A report which found that nearly half a million (436,000) workers who are within five years of state pension age have had to leave the workplace for medical reasons.