You'll Now Need To Work Longer And People Aren't Happy

It looks like your lifetime of work will be even longer than you thought, as the government has announced it's raising the state pension age for everyone currently aged under 47.

Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke has accelerated the lift in the state pension age, from 67 to 68, by seven years. The increase will come into force from 2037 rather than 2044, as was previously stated in legislation.

Gauke said the government had decided to accept the recommendations of the Cridland report, which proposed the change.

Watch what he had to say here...

Credit: BBC

"As life expectancy continues to rise and the number of people in receipt of state pension increases, we need to ensure that we have a fair and sustainable system that is reflective of modern life and protected for future generations," Gauke told MPs.

"This is about the Government taking responsible action in response to demographic pressures."

The change will affect those born between 6 April 1970 and 5 April 1978. It could be even worse news for anyone younger than 39, who will have to wait for future announcements to learn what their precise pension age will be.

But Labour and the SNP both said they opposed increasing the retirement age above 66.

Watch Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Debbie Abrahams' response here...

Credit: BBC

She said: "This is an astonishing continuation of austerity.

"The latest research shows that working people in some places will now fall ill ten years before receiving their state pension under the Tories' new plan - and just days ago, evidence emerged showing that increases in life expectancy are stalling.

"We cannot allow this Government to push people to work longer and longer to pay for its failed austerity agenda.

"That's why Labour will leave the state pension age at 66, while we look again at the emerging evidence, with a view to guaranteeing a secure and healthy retirement for the many, not just the few."

Here's how Twitter reacted to the news...

They don't sound happy, do they?

James Dawson

James Dawson is a Journalist at LADbible. He has contributed articles to LADbible’s ‘Knowing Me, Knowing EU’ series on the EU referendum, the 'Electoral Dysfunction' series on the 2017 general election, the ‘U OK M8?’ series tackling mental health amongst young men, and for its ‘Climate Change’ initiative in partnership with National Geographic.

@thejaytoday