For decades women retired at 60 and men five years later at 65. Many people looked at these as landmark birthdays when they would often give up work and start drawing their State Pension.
However over recent years this has changed to bring both together. Initially this meant both retired at 65 however other changes have played their own part in changing the retirement picture for both men and women.
From April 6, 2010 to November 2018, the State Pension age for women gradually increased from 60 to 65. This affects all women born on or after 6 April 1950.
And then from December 2018 both saw their pension age increase from 65 so that it reached 66 by October 2020. You are affected by this if you are a woman born on or after 6 April 1953 or a man born on or after 6 December 1953.
But it doesn’t stop there. The Government plans to increase State Pension age from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028. This would affect those born on or after 6 April 1960.
A further increase is planned to raise the State Pension age from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046. However the Department of Work and Pensions has warned this might be brought forward.
The DWP has a useful tool which people can use to calculate their pension age. But it warns: “The State Pension age is regularly reviewed, so the results of this tool may change in the future.”
The tool also shows the date you qualify for a free bus pass. To see what date you will qualify for your State Pension or bus pass you can visit the DWP site here.
At present those who hit their retirement age and qualify for a full new State Pension will get £221.20 a week. However this depends on how many contributions you have made.
You can check out how much you will get by going to the DWP State Pension website. You can see how many complete years of National Insurance contributions you have made and a forecast of how much you will get.