Government will have to justify planned increases to State Pension age
21 June 2018
A petition to reverse government’s decision that will increase State Pension age (SPa) for millions has resulted in 12,354 signatures. As it has exceeded 10,000 it requires a formal response from the government.
The SPa is due to increase to 68 between 2044 and 2046 but in July 2017 the government’s review proposed a new timetable to bring this forward seven years to between 2037 and 2039, in line with continuing increases in life expectancy.
Prospect launched the petition in response to the planned changes. The petition states that when the SPa is reviewed, the underlying principle is that the proportion of adult life spent over SPa should be constant. At first, the target proportion was up to 33.3%. The government now wants to reduce this to 32%. The petition states that the 33.3% target must be maintained or the SPa will rise for millions.
Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said:
“I’m delighted the petition has been so strongly supported by Prospect representatives and members. It is very important that government is forced to explain why it believes that future generations should expect to spend a lower proportion of their adult lives in retirement. In doing so they have ignored their own independent reviewer who recommended that 32.87% was an appropriate proportion to use. We need an open and honest debate about the impact of this proposal before any changes are implemented.”
The petition closed on 18 June 2018 and a response is expected shortly from the government.