State pension age rise in April for Brits born in these years – chart explains changes | Personal Finance | Finance

A phased increase to the State Pension age from 66 to 67 will begin in weeks, with letters being sent to retirees across the country. When the change takes effect for individual pensioners depends on their specific date of birth. The age at which they can claim their pension benefits from the state will start rising for millions of Britons from April 6 this year until April 2028.

It’s being phased in over three tax years to prevent pensioners from suddenly facing an abrupt one-year wait. Some receive their state pension at age 66 and 1 month, in one-month increments, up to those who will get theirs at age 66 and 11 months, until the transition to 67 is complete. Eligible pensioners should receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) a month before they become entitled to the State Pension, informing them when and how they can claim the benefit, investment platform AJ Bell explains.

You can find a chart explaining when people will start becoming eligible below.

The UK Government has a tool where you can check then you’ll reach State Pension age, you can find it here.

In its guidance about the phase-in, the Goverment says the Pensions Act 2014 “brought the increase in the state pension age from 66 to 67 forward by eight years”.

“The state pension age for men and women will now increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

“The government also changed the way in which the increase in the state pension is phased so that rather than reaching State Pension age on a specific date, people born between April 6, 1960 and March 5, 1961 will reach their state pension age at 66 years and the specified number of months.”

Under current plans, the state pension age is set to increase again from 2044.

However, the £150billion annual state pension bill is a major drain on public finances at a time when the Labour Government tussles with severe fiscal pressures.

As a result UK the Government is reviewing the pension benefits age sooner than planned.

It means the hike set to take place 2040s could be brought forwards depending on what the review, which is ongoing, concludes.