Pensioners will no longer have access to five benefits (Image: Getty)
Retirees will no longer be able to claim seven benefits once they reach the State Pension age. Currently set at 66, retirees won’t be able to claim a range of benefits available to the population that the government deems as working age, including Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), an unemployment benefit people can claim while looking for work.
Pensioners will no longer be able to access the income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), a means-tested benefit for those with a disability or health condition that affects the ability to work. The New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) also won’t be available, a benefit for people who are ill or have a health condition or disability that limits their ability to work.
Income Support and Universal Credit benefits will stop once retirees claim their State Pension, as well as Bereavement Support Payment and Widowed Parent’s Allowance.
Turn2us, which has a benefits calculator, advises: “If you live with a partner and one of you is pension age and the other is not yet pension age, benefit entitlement can be complicated.”
Retirees will also not be able to make a new claim for certain benefits once they reach State Pension age, although they can be renewed.
This includes Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Adult Disability Payment (ADP).
If pensioners were already receiving DLA, PIP, or ADP, they can renew the claim as long as they are claiming for the same health conditions, and their last claim ended less than 12 months before they reached State Pension age.
Some benefits are not affected even if you are over State Pension age, including Child Benefits, the Carer’s Allowance and Guardian’s Allowance.
UK state pension age explained as Denmark’s new law could increase it to 70
The UK state pension age is currently 66 (Image: GETTY)
People born after 1970 in Denmark are set to face the highest state pension age in the world by the year 2040. The country has passed new laws that link the Danish state pension age to life expectancy, currently 81.7 years.
With this system, any changes in longevity will automatically adjust the pension age accordingly, a concept similar to one already in place in the UK.
Experts are now suggesting that as a result of Denmark’s legislation, it seems “almost inevitable” the UK will follow suit by raising the state pension age to 70. In the UK, the present age for state pension eligibility is 66, but questions loom on how much further this might rise.
Typically, the state pension age marks the earliest time people can begin receiving their state pension and is designed to be proportional to the nation’s average lifespan, ensuring people spend an appropriate amount of time in retirement funded by the pension.
In the UK, a rise to 67 is already planned between 2026 to 2028, affecting those born after April 6, 1960, while a further rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046 will affect those born post-April 5, 1977.
However, Jason Hollands, managing director at Evelyn Partners, expressed to the i Paper his belief that Britons will likely face a retirement age of 68 before the mid-2040s.
Under the Pensions Act 2014, the state pension age is subject to review at least every five years. The previous review commenced in December 2021.
The expert suggested that due to medical advancements, life expectancy could significantly increase over the next few years, potentially prompting an increase in the state pension age.
Sir Steve Webb, the former pensions minister and now a partner at LCP, said: “Pension ages are rising across the developed world as countries come to terms with the combination of people living longer and fertility rates dropping, meaning there will be fewer workers in future to fund pension costs.”
Other experts have argued that it is unfair to compare the UK and Denmark pension systems, because Denmark’s incorporates a means testing element and early retirement options that the UK scheme doesn’t hold.
Currently, Denmark’s state pension age stands at 67, one of the highest globally on par with countries like Italy, Australia, the Netherlands, Greece, and Iceland.
Only a handful of countries maintain a state pension age below 60, including Sri Lanka at 55, Indonesia at 58, and Bangladesh at 59.
