Member Article

Millions to work longer as Osborne announces state pension changes

Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the state pension age will be raised from the mid 2030’s, and people will have to work until they are 68.

In a move to raise around £400 billion for the Treasury, the chancellor also announced the age will rise a further year in the mid 2040’s in his Autumn Statement today.

This bringing forward of the retirement age reflects rising life expectancy and comes a decade earlier than expected.

The retirement age will rise to 66 in 2020 and 67 eight years later as expected. Those leaving school are likely to see their retirement age rise to at least 70.

Despite good economic news, £3 billion will be cut from Whitehall budgets over the next three years, and the chancellor is asking millions of us to work longer.

The gloom many workers will feel is despite the economic outlook being brighter than any point since the coalition took office nearly three and a half years ago.

The economy grew 0.8% last quarter, faster than any other major economy, and growth is expected to be 1.4% this year.

But Mr Osborne told MPs he wanted a “responsible recovery” and warned of “more difficult decisions” to come.

He told MPs “Britain’s economic plan is working” but despite the better economic news “the job is not yet done”.

Prices, though, continue to outstrip wages, leaving people feeling the squeeze on their wallets. The shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, says working people are £1,600 a year worse off than in 2010.

The BBC’s deputy political editor James Landale said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning: “All of this reminds voters that there’s a lot of austerity still to come, that growth won’t pay the deficit by itself, and any shift away from a cut in spending would threaten the recovery.”

The director general of the British Chamber of Commerce, John Longworth, speaking on the same programme, urged the chancellor to do more to stimulate wealth creation.

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said: “What we need is a long-term plan to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and earn our way to higher living standards for all, not just a few at the top.”

See Autumn Statement highlights here.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .