This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Move the State Pension age back to 60 for both men & women
Move the pension age back to 60 for both men & women. With immediate/imminent effect. Back to what it was for women born in the 1950s & 1960s.
More details
Young people are struggling to find work, & losing their jobs, due to the pandemic. Why not allow older people to retire earlier, thereby freeing up jobs for younger people? There would be a cost, however, surely a far more positive cost than paying Universal Credit? Not to mention the option of restoring the balance back into young people's favour, & helping restore their future.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Government responded
This response was given on 28 July 2021
Parliament has voted to equalise the State Pension age (SPa) and subsequent retirement ages for men and women. Reducing it to 60 is neither affordable nor fair to tax payers and future generations.
The latest Office for National Statistics data shows that the number of people over SPa compared to the number of people of working age is expected to increase. On average, people are living longer, and increasing SPa in line with life expectancy changes has been the approach of successive governments over many years. It helps to maintain the cost and sustainability of the State Pension in the long term.
The State Pension is funded through the tax contributions of the current working-age population. Reducing the SPa to 60 would therefore increase the tax burden of the current working-age population.
The government have previously estimated that had we not put in place any increases in SPa for both men and women, the total additional cost to taxpayers would have been around £215 billion for the period 2010/11 to 2025/26, in 2018/19 prices. This figure takes into account State Pension, other pensioner benefits, and savings made on working age benefits. The 2019 report that details these costs can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/analysis-relating-to-state-pension-age-changes-from-the-1995-and-2011-pensions-acts/analysis-relating-to-state-pension-age-changes-from-the-1995-and-2011-pensions-acts
The Government has provided an unprecedented amount of support via our plan for jobs to help those of all ages find work and get the skills they need to return to work.
Our Plan for Jobs has been designed to deliver targeted support to those most in need, and we continue to provide tailored programmes for younger people who are unemployed. Evidence shows that unemployed young people can gain employment more quickly than older age groups and we have built on our existing programmes by providing further support for young people during the pandemic including the DWP Youth Offer, which has provided wrap-around support for 18-24-year-olds in the Intensive Work search regime of Universal Credit, since September 2020, and the £2 billion Kickstart scheme which funds the direct creation of additional jobs for young people at risk of long-term unemployment giving them the chance to build their confidence and skills in the workplace, and to gain experience that will improve their chances of progressing to find long-term, sustainable work.
Since the launch of Kickstart in September, employers have created over 247,000 approved vacancies for young people, including engineering, construction, adult social care and retail and over 44,000 young people have started in their Kickstart job.
Department for Work and Pensions
Related activity
Share your experiences for a debate on pensions guidance and advice
On Tuesday 1 March, Nigel Mills MP will lead a backbench business debate in Parliament on the take-up of pensions guidance and advice.
To inform the debate, he wants to hear about your experiences and suggestions on pensions guidance, including:
How well you understand your options when it comes to drawing your pension
Whether your pension provider has signposted you to guidance and advice services
How you’d address any issues related to pensions guidance and advice.
He may quote your contribution directly during his debate.
Find out more and share your experiences with him here: https://ukparliament.shorthandstories.com/cet-pensions-advice/index.html?utm_campaign=0222-cet-pensionsguidance-petitioners&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petcom
Videos of the debate, the transcript and other relevant material will be accessible shortly after the debate on this webpage.
The deadline for contributions is midday on Monday, 28 February.
What are backbench business debates?
Backbench business debates give backbenchers (MPs who aren’t ministers or shadow ministers) an opportunity to secure a debate on a topic of their choice, either in the Chamber or Westminster Hall.
MPs can make a request for a debate to the Backbench Business Committee, who hears and decides which debates to schedule.
Backbench debates can either be general debates (which do not end in a vote) or be on a substantive motion (which calls for an action and can end in a vote). This debate will be a general debate.
Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament
Sign up to the UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference: https://learning.parliament.uk/en/your-uk-parliament-newsletter-sign-up-form/
Share your views on increasing the state pension to £380 a week and lowering the retirement age to 60
The MPs on the Petitions Committee have scheduled a debate on a petition calling for the state pension to be increased to £380 a week and the retirement age to be lowered to 60, which you signed.
Marsha De Cordova MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, has been asked to open the debate.
Share your views
To inform the debate, Marsha would like to hear your views on this issue, including how well you feel the current state pension meets pensioners' needs and what you think about the state pension age.
You can share your views with Marsha by completing this survey:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/2HAO3W/
The survey will close on Tuesday 6 December at midday.
Your responses will be anonymous. A summary of responses will be published on the Committee's website and may be shared with MPs and quoted during the debate.
Watch the debate
The debate will be held on Monday 12 December at 4.30pm.
- Watch the debate (from 4.30pm on Monday 12 December)
- Read a transcript of the debate (available a few hours after the debate happens)
What are petition debates?
Petitions debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs will not vote on changing the state pension at the end of the debate.
Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament
Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.
Share your views on increasing the state pension to £380 a week and lowering the retirement age to 60
The MPs on the Petitions Committee have scheduled a debate on a petition calling for the state pension to be increased to £380 a week and the retirement age to be lowered to 60, which you signed.
Marsha De Cordova MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, has been asked to open the debate.
Share your views
To inform the debate, Marsha would like to hear your views on this issue, including how well you feel the current state pension meets pensioners' needs and what you think about the state pension age.
You can share your views with Marsha by completing this survey:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/2HAO3W/
The survey will close on Tuesday 6 December at midday.
Your responses will be anonymous. A summary of responses will be published on the Committee's website and may be shared with MPs and quoted during the debate.
Watch the debate
The debate will be held on Monday 12 December at 4.30pm.
- Watch the debate (from 4.30pm on Monday 12 December)
- Read a transcript of the debate (available a few hours after the debate happens)
What are petition debates?
Petitions debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs will not vote on changing the state pension at the end of the debate.
Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament
Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.
MPs debate the state pension age
The Petitions Committee scheduled a debate in the House of Commons on the the state pension. This took place on Monday 12 December 2022. A member of the Committee, Tonia Antoniazzi MP, opened the debate.
Read a summary of what was said, watch the debate and access other relevant material:
What did you tell us about the state pension?
This includes results from a survey we conducted to ask people who signed this petition about their views on the state pension.
What are petitions debates?
Petitions debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs did not vote on increasing the state pension age at the end of the debate.
Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament
Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.
MPs debate raising the State Pension age to 68
On Wednesday 1 February MPs debated raising the State Pension age to 68 in the House of Commons.
The debate was led by Nigel Mills MP. Laura Trott MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, responded for the Government.
The subject of the debate was scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee.
What are backbench business debates?
Backbench business debates give backbenchers (MPs who aren’t ministers or shadow ministers) an opportunity to secure a debate on a topic of their choice, either in the Chamber or Westminster Hall.
MPs can make a request for a debate to the Backbench Business Committee, who hears and decides which debates to schedule.
Backbench debates can either be general debates (which do not end in a vote) or be on a substantive motion (which calls for an action and can end in a vote). This debate was a general debate.
Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament
Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.