Your pension, no jargon.
The State Pension age is going up, and the rules for using your savings are shifting. This is what that means for you, in plain terms.
The age you can claim your State Pension is going up.
For years it sat at 66. It started rising in April 2026 and reaches 67 by April 2028. It's being phased in by date of birth, so the exact age depends on when you were born.
If you're affected, you'll wait up to a year longer than people just ahead of you before your State Pension starts. That's a year to plan for.
A further government review is due by March 2029. The guiding principle is that each generation should spend a roughly equal share of adult life receiving the State Pension, so future ages could change.
When will you get yours?
Enter your full date of birth. We'll apply the current legislated timetable for people born from 1960 onwards.
State Pension age is reviewed regularly. Always confirm your exact date with the GOV.UK checker.
This explainer covers people born from 1960 to 2000.
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How this estimate works
It follows the current statutory timetable: the rise from 66 to 67 is phased between April 2026 and April 2028, and the later rise from 67 to 68 remains in current legislation. Reviews can change future ages, so GOV.UK is the final check.
What the State Pension is worth.
These are the 2026/27 rates. The full new State Pension is a solid base, but on its own it sits just below a minimum, dignified standard of living.
The State Pension is built to be the base you build on, not the whole of your retirement income.
By the 2040s it's expected to be worth about 31% of median earnings. The rest is meant to come from your workplace or private pension. People with no private pension are far more likely to end up in poverty.
Each year, the State Pension rises by whichever of these is highest:
Mind the gap before your pension starts.
Plenty of us stop working before State Pension age, through ill-health, caring, or redundancy. A higher pension age means a longer stretch to bridge on your own.
of people are no longer in paid work in the year before State Pension age.
The last rise (65→66) saw poverty among 65-year-olds more than double.
of people first tap their pension savings between 60 and 65, often to tide themselves over.
Dip into your pot early to bridge the gap and you leave less for later life, when you may need it most.
Taking money from your pot.
Many people now have a defined-contribution pension pot. You can usually start accessing one from age 55 today, but the normal minimum pension age rises to 57 on 6 April 2028 unless an exception or protected pension age applies.
The normal minimum pension age is 55 now and becomes 57 from 6 April 2028. Your scheme's rules may set a later age. Nearly 2 in 5 people first accessed their pension between 60 and 65 in 2024–25.
It's easy to take too much too soon: cashing in the whole pot, or drawing at a rate that won't last. Your money has to stretch across an unknown number of years.
Under the Pension Schemes Act 2026, schemes will have to offer a "guided retirement" default: a sensible ready-made option designed to suit most members.
Money left untouched in a workplace pension is ignored when working out means-tested benefits like Universal Credit. Start withdrawing and it can start to count.
Some feel it harder than others.
Carers, people in poor health, and those in lower-paid or insecure work reach their sixties with far less to fall back on. The gender gap is stark:
Nearly half of carers aged 60–65 have no private pension at all.
Pensions done differently, for real people.
People. Pensions. Plain talking. No policy numbers pretending to be people.
Five simple things you can do now.
Know the date it starts, so a later start is never a surprise.
Check how much you're on track for, and whether topping up National Insurance helps.
It's the top-up that turns a foundation into a real income. Don't opt out lightly.
If you might stop work early, think about how you'll bridge to State Pension age without draining your pot.
Pension Wise is free, impartial and backed by government. If you're 50 or over and have a UK defined-contribution pension, an appointment can explain your options.
Some of this is still being decided.
A Second Pensions Commission is reviewing whether people are saving enough, with final recommendations due in spring 2027. The Minister for Pensions has warned we're "on course for tomorrow's pensioners to be poorer than today's."
Separately, the Work and Pensions Committee recommends that the government consult on increasing Universal Credit in the year before State Pension age. No such policy has yet been confirmed.
Where the numbers come from.
The page is based on the Committee's July 2026 report. Current age and pension-access rules are cross-checked against GOV.UK because future timetables can change.