State pension age outrage as Brits told ‘you’ll have to work into your 70s’

NHS staff may have to work into their 70s if the state pension age rises further, experts have warned. Current employees of the National Health Service who are part of the 2015 NHS pension scheme would be especially affected because the age at which they can retire is tied to the threshold set by government.

Other public sector staff could also be affected, including teachers. Younger public sector employees who might expect to take their full pension at 68 may see that age rise to 70 if the state pension age continues to rise.

Former pensions minister, Sir Steve Webb, who is now a partner at LCP, told the i newspaper that any future change to the state pension age could mean the age at which younger nurses, teachers and other public servants can draw a full workplace pension will rise in parallel.

He added: "It would not be surprising if the youngest people in the workforce today ended up with a state pension age as high as 70, with knock-on effects on their ability to access their workplace pension in full."

Sir Steve said the days when long-serving public servants could hope and expect to retire on a good pension at 60 or even earlier are long gone.

The former minister said today’s young public servants needed to realise that although the pension they are building up is valuable, they are likely to have to wait much longer to receive it than past generations.

Currently, the state pension age is 66. It is due to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028 before a futher rise to 68 from 2044 to 2046.

The Government announced in July that it would launch a review into raising the state pension age, which by law has to be done every six years.

Edmund Greaves, financial expert at the podcast Mouthy Money, urged younger NHS staff to review their retirement plans.

He told the i that the consequences could be very real if the state pension age were to rise again, adding it would mean a nurse or paramedic currently planning to retire at 68 could find that shifting higher, perhaps beyond 70, depending on Government decisions.

Mr Greaves said the issue deserves urgent attention given that another state pension age review is underway.