Nearly half (48 per cent) of UK adults under state pension age do not know when they will receive the state pension.
Research by AJ Bell found that 63 per cent of those aged 18-34 did not know when they would receive the state pension, with 54 per cent of 35-49-year-olds also being unaware.
Some 28 per cent of those aged 50-64 also admitted not knowing the state pension age.
The research also revealed that 72 per cent of UK adults expect their pension age to rise, highlighting the uncertainty that exists over a central part of a person’s retirement income plan.
Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell said the results likely reflect a lack of engagement with pensions, particularly among younger people and in part due to the lack of certainty that exists around state pension policy.
He said: “Brits can be forgiven for being in the dark because state pension ages have been changing regularly in recent years. In particular, the women’s state pension age increased from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2018, before state pension ages of both men and women rose to age 66 by 2020.
"Further increases are scheduled to age 67 between 2026 and 2028, and age 68 between 2044 and 2046.
“There is also the spectre of further increases in the state pension age to balance the books, with some calling for the state pension age to rise to age 70 or even higher in the coming years.
“Given this backdrop, it is not surprising almost three-quarters of people expect their state pension age to increase before they have reached it.
"Add to this the lack of clarity over exactly what the state pension is going to be worth and the triple lock, and the foundation upon which people’s retirement plans are built feels anything but stable.”
Govt review needed
AJ Bell has called for the next government to urgently consider reviewing existing state pension age communications, to prevent another Waspi situation from happening again, as well as a review of the triple lock and state pension policy.
Selby said: “The next government must put stability and predictability at the heart of state pension policy. To plan for retirement over decades, people need to have at least a decent idea of what they can expect to receive from the state and when they will receive it.
“The triple lock, and more recently Rishi Sunak’s proposed quadruple lock, do not provide that certainty. They merely allow politicians to avoid addressing the vital question of what a fair value for the state pension would be and how long people should, on average, be in receipt of it.
“Given the grip the triple lock has on state pension policy at the moment, an independent review will likely be needed if we are to get anything resembling the cross-party settlement required to deliver long-term stability.”
alina.khan@ft.com
