Ulster Unionist MLA Andy Allen has called on the UK Government to end its fixation with repeatedly adjusting the State Pension age. The East Belfast MLA was commenting after new research by the House of Commons Library confirmed that thousands of local people in Northern Ireland born between 1970 and 1978 are each set to lose up to £9,800 following the latest increase in the pension age to 68.

Andy Allen said:

“The state pension has recently gone through a period of fundamental reform. The age at which women qualify for the State Pension is in the process of rising from 60 to 65. Between 2018 and 2020, both men and women's State Pension age will increase to 66, and between 2026 and 2028 it will rise again to 67. Last week’s announcement will now see the age rise again to 68 from 2037 to 2039.

“Whilst I fully understand the necessity for the pension to remain affordable for future generations, the Government in their eagerness to increase the age have now gone too far, too fast. In a flash last Wednesday tens of thousands of local people saw the age they thought they could retire increase.

“The announcement was also the clearest sign yet that the changes are based more on ideology and austerity rather than fairness. Only days before research was published on life expectancy that demonstrated that increases in life expectancy were slowing signifying no evidential basis for bringing the State Pension age further forward.

“It is not too late to reverse this decision so many will be watching whether the DUP recognise the flawed nature of this decision. The Conservative Party will likely hide behind the fact that it was a recommendation, but it was they who quickly agreed to it. I would urge the Government to look at the likely implications of such a flawed policy until the new emerging evidence in relation to life expectancy can be assessed and corroborated.

“Unfortunately I fear the current Government is so fixated on the State Pension age that no matter what the research or evidence confirmed, they would still follow their own partisan agenda.”