State Pension Age Increase

Though determining the State Pension Age is often treated as a technical exercise, it has very real consequences for people’s health, financial security, and quality of life. Those who have spent their working lives in physically demanding jobs should, in my view, be treated differently to those whose job can be continued without the strain on their bodies in later life. 

Decisions about the pension age should be made fairly and transparently. This should consider life expectancy but also recognise that not everyone’s working life, and indeed their physical capacity in later years, will be the same. Those who struggle to continue working into their late sixties should be protected, while those who are able and wish to work longer should be supported to do so. 

Successive Governments have floated proposals to increase the pension age, but without providing clarity or consistency; then only to withdraw or amend them later. That uncertainty understandably causes anxiety. My Liberal Democrat Parliamentary colleagues and I have called for the Government to conduct a full and transparent review of any proposed changes, and to publish the evidence and analysis before decisions are made, so that Parliament can properly scrutinise the impact. 

Older people should be properly supported in later life and able to enjoy their retirement with dignity. This includes maintaining the triple lock introduced by the Liberal Democrats fifteen years ago, meaning pensions keep pace with the cost of living, and ensuring that those who have been treated unfairly in the past, such as many women born in the 1950s, receive proper redress. 

I will continue raising these concerns with Ministers and press for a fairer system which recognises that people who have worked continuously deserve support in retirement.