Up until 2010 women had a state pension age of 60, and men had a state pension age of 65. However, with increasing life expectancy it became very obvious the Treasury needed to make changes. It wasn’t uncommon for some individuals to be claiming state pension for a longer period of time than they had been paying National Insurance.
For a female born on or after 6th April 1950, and a male born on or after 5th December 1953 their state pension age is increasing. State pension age for women is being increased to age 65 to bring it into alignment with men from 2018 and then state pension age for both sexes will increase.
The age will increase to 66 in October 2020, will increase to 67 in 2026 and is expected to increase to 68 in mid 2030s.
State pension age will be subject to 5 yearly reviews and is likely to rise in line with life expectancy. It is expected the age will increase to 70 in the 2060s.
The suggestion is that state pension age will be set so that adults spend approximately 1/3 of their adult life in receipt of state pension.
What does this mean for you?
It is no longer straight forward to know when you will reach state pension age. You can calculate your state pension age online at www.gov.uk/calculate-state-pension.
If you are going through divorce, also check what age your spouse will receive his state pension. Dependant on the age difference between you it may be at a very different age to you. You should take these differences into account when you make your financial disclosures. The value of the state pension is significant and due to various changes being proposed it can no longer be assumed that you and your ex-spouse will receive the same amount.
Maintenance payments may now need to be paid for a longer period to take account of the fact that state pension will not become payable until a later age.
If you are going through divorce and would like an initial no obligation discussion please do contact me on 01932 698150.
