Ministers are urging the Government to publish any latest evidence which advises raising the State Pension Age (SPA) before an announcement is made. Back in Autumn 2022, chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed there would be a review into the SPA with its results to follow in 2023.

Now, according to various reports, the SPA could be about to increase from 66 for both male and females, to 67 then 68 ahead of schedule. Currently, in 2026-28 the planned SPA is 67, then between 2033-39 it will be 68 years old. But depending on the results of the review, these increases could be brought forward by years.

The PA news agency says MPs have raised concerns about reports the Government is planning to raise SPA, with several stating the data does not show life expectancy is increasing. Work and Pensions select committee chairman Sir Stephen Timms told the Commons: "Even before the pandemic hit, the improvements in life expectancy which we had seen over the last century had almost ground to a halt."

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He went on to urge the Government to publish the latest report, completed by Baroness Neville-Rolfe last September, before the Budget this spring. He stressed: "These are very important public policy questions" and therefore "ought to be debated in Parliament and amongst the public before the Government announces its decision."

Meanwhile, Conservative MP Nigel Mills, who opened the debate, noted: "Data does not now show, sadly, life expectancy increasing."

Work and pensions minister Laura Trott refused to be drawn into what the new review will say and stated that according to her data, life expectancy is in fact rising. She said it is current Government policy, following the Cridland review in 2017, to: "Bring the rise to 68 forward to 2037-39, that is the baseline."

On life expectancy, she said: "Despite the slower improvement rate, ONS projections continue to show an increasing life expectancy over time and the number of people over SPA is expected to continue to rise."

A previous review of the SPA in 2017, led by John Cridland, established that people should expect to spend on average up to one third of their adult life in retirement. So, with life expectancy stagnating, a quick increase in the SPA would go against this principle.

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