Overview

• The Department for Work and Pensions has opened the legally required review, commissioning Dr Suzy Morrissey to assess options including automatic links to life expectancy used in Denmark, Finland, Italy and the Netherlands.
• The state pension age is already set to rise from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and to 68 in 2044–46, with the DWP urging people born in 1960–61 to check their entitlement date via the online tool.
• Current indicators point to a 4.2%–4.6% uplift in April 2026 under the triple lock, adding roughly £478–£551 to the full new state pension, while those on the older basic pension would see smaller cash gains.
• With the personal allowance frozen at £12,570, projections suggest payments could sit just below the tax threshold next year, increasing the risk that more pensioners with modest extra income become liable for income tax and receive HMRC correspondence.
• The OBR warns the triple lock will add about £22.9bn a year to spending by 2029–30, as commentators float options such as raising the pension age toward 70, freezing payments or expanding Pension Credit, and unions signal they would oppose higher ages with protests.