A leading Government minister has shared an update about a key change to the state pension. DWP minister Torsten Bell spoke to the Work and Pensions Committee about looming changes to the qualifying rules for the DWP benefit.

He was asked about a range of issues relating to people getting ready for retirement financially, and how the state pension factors into people’s later life plans. One question he was asked about is the imminent increase in the state pension age.

You can currently claim your state pension when you reach the age of 66. However, the access age is increasing from April 2026, moving up gradually to reach 67 by April 2028. Mr Bell was asked about how increasing the access age could impact “health and frailty”.

The panel also asked him what advice the Government had sought from senior medical advisors on this question. He said in response that considerations around health “will absolutely be part of how we act” when it comes to decisions around pensions.

However, on the specific question of the health impact of hiking the state pension age, he said: “The decision to increase it was obviously taken by the last Government, and the acceleration of it was also put in place by the last Government, so you will have to ask them who they spoke to at the time.

“They did publish an impact assessment along with the 2014 Act, but it is not for me to talk about. There are other people representing parties in the room who were involved in that; you could ask them who they spoke to.”

The increase from 66 to 67 was originally set to happen by 2036, but this timetable was brought forward by eight years with the 2014 Act, in light of increasing life expectancy. Laws are also on the books for the state pension age to rise again from 67 to 68, between 2044 and 2046.

State pension early access

Mr Bell was also asked for his thoughts on providing early access to the state pension. He said: “It is a very good question, and I think we should take that seriously.” The minister said there are some “inequality challenges” to think about when looking at providing early access for some groups.

He told the MPs: “You want there to be a state that is supporting people who are too ill to work, whether they are 25, 45 or 66. That is important to have in mind.

“You want a system that means people are getting help. We have chosen, for good reasons, to have a big difference in the level of income support provided to people over the state pension age and under it, in big-picture terms, because the work incentive issues are different and all the rest.”

Mr Bell also spoke about the idea of early access for people with a terminal illness. He said: “People rightly raise challenges around how any of us would cope with the challenges of terminal illness, either for ourselves or in our family. I am sure you have heard versions of that.

“Some people’s response to that is to allow early access to the state pension at particular ages—65 or 66—but there are 45-year-olds with terminal illnesses.” The minister also said that a key consideration in thinking about early access to the benefit is the “characteristics” of different people being looked at.

State pension payments will increase 4.8 percent this April in line with the triple lock metric. This policy ensures payment rates go up each April, in line with the highest of: 2.5 percent, the rise in average earnings or inflation.