Waiting Longer for the State Pension

A little known fact is that the government have fairly quietly increased state pension ages for men and women so that for all people retiring after 2024 will increase from age 65 to age 68. What does this mean to you?

Well, if you were able to retire now you would receive £90.70 per week plus any increases due to the State Second Pension (previously known as SERPS)This equates to £4716 per year. Therefore if you are one of the unlucky ones you could be loosing out on £14,149 over the three years.

The Pensions Service have put together a useful little calculator on their website so that you can find out how much extra you will have to wait for your state pension. If you would like to find out, click here


What can you do about it? Well… the starting point is to have a plan. Of course, the state pension should only be a part of your income when you retire. You need to assess what you require to maintain a comfortable standard of living and then compare this with the level of income which you think you will get. If there is a shortfall, something needs to be done.

Alternatively you could consider making use of a financial planner who can prepare a cash flow based model for you which will show you where you stand and help you to create a plan to make sure that you don't descend into penury when you retire.