Millions of UK workers are being urged to double-check when they will actually be able to claim their State Pension, with the official retirement age set to start climbing from 66 to 67 in April 2026.
According to the Mirror, the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed the phased increase will affect anyone born between 6 April 1960 and 5 April 1977. The change is being rolled out in stages rather than in one sweep, so the exact date you can claim depends on when you were born.
Anyone born on or before 5 April 1960 is unaffected and still qualifies at 66. Those born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 will see their pension age rise in steps of a few months at a time, with each band linked to their precise date of birth.
From 6 March 1961 onwards, the State Pension age becomes a full 67. That means anyone born between that date and 5 April 1977 will have to wait an extra year, compared with current retirees, before any State Pension payments begin.
The first people caught by the change can expect to start drawing their pension from May 2026, the DWP says. The full transition to an age of 67 is due to be completed by March 2028.
The new full State Pension is currently worth around £230.25 a week, or just under £12,000 a year, for those who qualify in the 2025 to 2026 tax year. Anyone unsure where they stand can check their personal forecast on the gov.uk website.
A further rise from 67 to 68 is already written into law and is currently scheduled between 2044 and 2046, although ministers have not ruled out bringing it forward. Any change to that timetable would have to be put before Parliament.
Campaigners say the steady creep upwards is leaving people with less time to plan, particularly those in physically demanding jobs. For now, the key advice from the DWP is to know your own date and not assume your pension age will match what older friends or family received.