April is a critical time for workers who may face the prospect of clocking into their jobs well beyond their hoped-for retirement dates.The existing state pension age of 66 is on course to stretch to 67 in the span from 2026 to 2028.
However, state pension expert David Piltz warned “A further increase to age 70 is not off the table. We therefore need to ready ourselves for a reality where people will be working longer and update our financial plans accordingly. “
He added: “State Pension age is now reviewed regularly, and while an increase to age 68 has already been legislated for in 2044/46, the next review into an earlier increase date is due.”
With the looming possibility of the state pension threshold escalating to 67 as soon as 2026, David is banging the drum for workers to smarten up their monetary strategies against this potential upheaval in their twilight years roadmap. Specifically, he’s nudging folks towards grabbing hold of National Insurance voluntary credits.
These credits can patch up any shortfall in your National Insurance record, which translates directly to your state pension sum. Presently, some individuals have the opportunity to plump up their records using voluntary credits reaching back to 2006—but come April, this window slams shut.
From the start of the new tax year, men born after, April 5, 1951 and and women born after April 5, 1953, will no longer be able to fill gaps past the last six tax years, putting them on an even playing field with other taxpayers.
Consequently, those who reach state pension age after this deadline and have under four years of National Insurance credits will not qualify for any state pension, as more than six years of voluntary credits are required to meet the minimum requirement.
Further information can be found on the Gov.uk website. To be eligible for the new state pension at state pension age, a minimum of 10 years of National Insurance payments, or 10 qualifying years, must be recorded.
The number of qualifying years directly correlates with the state pension amount until 35 qualifying years are reached, entitling the recipient to the full sum from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The CEO at Gallagher’s Employee Benefits & HR Consulting Division in the UK noted: “Getting to grips with State Pension and State Pension age is difficult for everyone. The UK’s retirement regime is complex and expensive, with the cost of maintaining the State Pension set to nearly double as a proportion of GDP over the next 50 years, as the UK population continues to age.”
In 2014, the Pensions Act confirmed one of the first significant changes to the age at which people could start claiming state pension. Crucially, it also allowed the government to review and alter how quickly these changes are implemented.
As Chancellor Rachel Reeves pointed out the financial “black hole” Labour is grappling with, a departure from the planned increases could begin as early as next year. David also argued that the unsustainability of the triple lock needs to be addressed.
He stated: “Last year, the government confirmed that the full New State Pension would rise to £230.25 per week from April 2025 – an annual increase of £470. While this announcement may be welcome news to those receiving the State Pension or approaching State Pension age, the reality is that the triple lock is not sustainable in its current form.
“The triple lock is fixed in place for now, but in the future, to maintain a high rate of increase, solutions like further boosting workplace pension savings through automatic enrolment or making tough fiscal decisions will be necessary.”
The Triple Lock mechanism ensures that state pensions increase annually by whichever is highest out of average inflation, average wage growth, and 2.5%.
