Overview

• Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb says a life-expectancy link could see the youngest workers face a state pension age near 70, citing Denmark’s path to 70 by 2040 as a precedent.
• Current law keeps the state pension age at 66 today, rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and to 68 between 2044 and 2046, with no new legislative changes announced.
• RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey warns of national protests and coordinated direct action if the government moves to raise the state pension age further.
• Frontline staff such as NHS nurses and paramedics could be forced to work longer because workplace scheme ‘normal pension ages’ are linked to the state pension age.
• Experts caution that tying entitlements to average life expectancy risks widening inequality and increasing pre‑retirement poverty, even as workplace pension access rises from age 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028.