The state pension age is defined as the age that you must reach before you can access your state pension, although you can defer it if you wish. The state pension age for men who were born before 6th December 1953 is currently 65. For women who were born between 5th April 1950 and 6th December 1953, the state retirement age is between 60 and 65 years of age.

The government have introduced some changes and are looking at further changes to ensure that the state retirement age stays in line with expected increases in life expectancy. The state retirement age is the earliest date at which you will receive a state pension, although you don’t have to retire. You can retire after the state retirement age if you wish to do so. Between April 2016 and November 2018, the state pension age for a woman will increase at an accelerated rate to 65 years. The state retirement age for males and females will increase quickly to age 66 from December 2018.

On 29th November 2011, the government announced that state pension age will be 67 years of age between 2026 and 2028. However, this change has still to be approved by parliament before it becomes law. When you reach state retirement age, you have three options. You can retire and claim your state pension. Your second option is to work and claim your state retirement pension, or you could carry on working and defer your state pension until a later date. When you reach state retirement age National Insurance Contributions are no longer payable.

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