A question posed on ThisIsMoney’s website has elicited an interesting response from former Pensions Minister, Steve Webb. A reader in his 50s, who has a hardworking manual job, is asking whether there could be a way to access his state pension early (if aches and pains force him to retire), but at a lower rate than if he continued to the normal retirement age.
The response shows that early access to the state pension is being seriously considered by the government (We hope that more options for early access to private pensions will also be considered) –
“…the Government is currently reviewing the age at which we can draw a state pension… One of things it is thinking about is exactly the point that you raise – how to take account of the fact that whilst we are generally living a lot longer, there are plenty of people who do demanding physical jobs which they may struggle to carry on with even up to current state pension ages… The Government is scheduled to make its decision on state pension age rises beyond 2028 this May, and could also announce some measures to help those who are disadvantaged by having to retire later.”