With this in mind, a review of the proposed increase to 68 is due before this decade ends. The Conservative government had originally planned for it to take place two years after the General Election—which would have been due in 2026.

Any review of the state pension age will take into account life expectancy, among other relevant factors. Following the report from the review, the UK government may then choose to make changes to the state pension age. However, any proposals would need to be approved by Parliament before they become law.

Your State Pension age is the earliest age at which you can start receiving your State Pension, and you can find out your State Pension age online. It may not be the same as the age at which you can access a workplace or personal pension.

Anyone, regardless of their age, can use the online tool on GOV.The UK is to check its State Pension age, which can be an essential part of retirement planning.

You can use the State Pension age tool to check:

• When you will reach State Pension age
• Your Pension Credit qualifying age
• When you will be eligible for free bus travel

Increasing State Pension payments

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recently announced that over 10,000 payments worth £12.5 million have been made by people using the new digital service to enhance State Pensions since its launch last year. However, those seeking to maximise their retirement income through the contributory benefit only have a few weeks left to fill any gaps in their National Insurance (NI) records, dating back to 2006.

Typically, individuals are limited to making voluntary contributions for the previous six tax years, but after this year’s April 5 deadline, the standard six-tax-year restriction will be reinstated. In 2023, the former government extended the cut-off date for paying voluntary National Insurance (NI) contributions to April 5, 2025, for those affected by the new State Pension transitional arrangements, which span from April 6, 2006, to April 5, 2018.

This extension has provided people with extra time to consider their options and contribute. Men born on or after April 6, 1951, and women born on or after April 6, 1953, can make voluntary NI contributions to boost their New State Pension. For some, National Insurance credits may be a better option than contributions, so it’s crucial to explore all available choices.

Information about making voluntary contributions is accessible on GOV.UK here. Working-age individuals can also check their state pension forecast on GOV.UK here.

Alice Haine, personal finance analyst at Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners, the online investment platform, explained: “People typically need at least 10 qualifying years of NI (National Insurance) contributions to receive any state pension at all and at least 35 years to receive the full new State Pension—though they don’t need to be consecutive years.

“Plugging gaps can be quite an expensive process, so it is important to assess whether you actually need to buy back any missing years. This will depend on how many more years you plan to work and whether you are eligible for NI tax credits, which fill the gaps, such as those who have been sick, were unemployed, or took time out to raise a family or care for elderly relatives.

“Plugging gaps in your record is relatively straightforward since the government rolled out its new NI payments services in April last year—a State Pension forecast tool that has been checked by 3.7 million since its launch.”

She continued: “People simply need to log into their personal tax account or the HMRC app to not only view any payment gaps but also check if they can plug those gaps directly through the government’s digital channels. A short survey assesses the person’s suitability to pay online, with those eligible to pay directly given a series of options to plug any gaps depending on when someone wants to stop working.

“Calculating whether to top up can be confusing, though, and ultimately there is no point paying for more years than you need because you won’t get that money back.”

Ms. Haine further stated: “People who might need to top up include those that took a career break as well as low earners or expatriates living and working abroad. Remember, this deadline has been extended a couple of times in the past, which makes it more likely the government will stick to the April cut-off point this time around. For this reason, those that think they might need to take action should start the process now.”