Pensions warning as Government may hike state pension age beyond 68 to protect triple lock | Personal Finance | Finance

Britons may have to wait several more years to claim their state pension as the Government is forced to up the state pension age to keep the triple lock affordable.

Both the Conservatives and the Labour Party have pledged to retain the triple lock if elected to power in the General Election, but this commitment may mean they have to tweak the eligibility criteria for the payments.

Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, told Express.co.uk: “Both the Conservatives and Labour have stated their continued commitment to the triple lock, and the Conservatives have announced plans to protect pensioners from paying tax in their ‘triple lock plus’ pledge.

“However there’s no doubt that questions around the long-term affordability of the scheme will remain.

“The state pension age is already set to increase to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046 and the next Government might decide to increase it more quickly, and to a higher age, while retaining the triple lock.”

The Conservatives are planning to increase the personal allowance for pensioners using the triple lock metric.

Mr Ambery urged working age people to assess their finances to make sure they have enough set aside for their retirement.

He explained: “While some people have, or are on course to have, sufficient private pension savings to allow for a comfortable retirement, there are millions who are or will be heavily dependent on the state pension.

“This might suggest that means testing is a possible route but this is likely to be unpopular.

“It’s worth noting that even with the relatively high yearly increases as a result of the triple lock over the past two years, the state pension still falls short of the Pension and Lifetime Savings Association minimum standard of living for a single pensioner.

“So it’s worth people currently working checking if their level of private pension savings look set to provide their desired standard of living in retirement.”

Mr Ambery warned that “far too few people” are getting the help they need to plan for their retirement, but work is underway to make support more readily available.

He explained: “Recent proposals from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to make advice more accessible are a welcome change in direction but no details have yet been given on timescales for next steps.

“Savers need help throughout the savings journey and in particular the FCA’s idea of ‘Targeted Support’, could help them get this by explaining what people in similar situations typically do.

“The next Government should prioritise implementation of these reforms to ensure more people can get the support they need.”

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