Experts have warned that the state pension age could reach 71 in a matter of years.
New research from the International Longevity Centre has suggested that anyone born after April 1970 will have to wait an extra five years to receive their own pension, compared to those currently of state pension age.
The think tank said it might go up from the current 66 to 70 or even 71, to maintain the status quo of the number of workers per state pensioner.
The think tank said the goal of around five workers to each retiree – but an ageing population increases the risk of changing the ratio, so it becomes one worker to every one retiree.
The state pension age is already expected to increase to 67 between May 2026 and March 2028, before leaping up again to 68 by 2044.
But the International Longevity Centre think it could be increased to 70 or 71 as early as 2040.
Speaking to The Guardian, the think tank’s associate head of global research Les Mayhew, explained: “If you bring preventable ill health into the equation, that would have to increase even more.”
This anticipated increase comes as a static period for the state pension age – triggered the pause in life expectancy amid austerity measures and the Covid pandemic – comes to an end.
The International Longevity Centre said more emphasis was needed on preventing ill health throughout people’s lives, not just in old age, to boost the workforce so people do not have to stop working early.
But, according to a new release from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there are 2.8 million people not working in the UK right now because of ill health.
The researchers said that the growing burden of preventable ill-health “will continue to act as a key barrier for people to remain in the labour market”.
The UK’s population is also expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.
ONS revealed last week that the population will grow from an estimated 67 million in mid-2021 to 73.7 million by 2036 – an increase of 9.9%.