Millions of workers in their 50s face losing up to £18,000 if the UK Government accelerates a rise in the state pension age, according to a leading UK wealth manager.
Rathbones, which manages the savings of older people, has told the Telegraph that introducing a state retirement age of 68 earlier than planned threatened to hit people aged 51 the hardest, while people aged 52 and 53 would also lose out.
The government is currently exploring whether to raise the state pension age to 68 more quickly.
It is currently set to be phased in from 2044, but Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is considering bringing this forward five years to 2039 as part of the Government’s pensions review.
According to Rathbones, those aged 51 would lose an entire year’s worth of state pension payments if the timetable is accelerated. That would be worth £17,774, assuming today’s state pension of £12,000 increases by the so-called triple lock each year.
Meanwhile, people aged 52 would miss out on £17,340 and those aged 53 would lose £16,918.
Each of those age cohorts – 51, 52 and 53-year-olds – comprise some 800,000 people, meaning around 2.4 million risk missing out on significant five-figure sums.
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