UK State Pension age increase to 67 and birthday timetable, Digi Mart USA News (United Kingdom): People approaching State Pension age are being warned they could have to wait several months longer before receiving their first payment as the government continues its phased increase from 66 to 67. The change is being introduced gradually over two years, with the State Pension age rising by one month at a time for people reaching 66 during the transition.
The next stage begins on November 6 and affects people born between November 6 and December 5, 1960. Rather than receiving their State Pension when they turn 66, this group will have to wait until they are 66 years and eight months old before becoming eligible.
For someone born on November 6, 1960, that means they will reach State Pension age on July 6, 2027.
The delay increases by another month for each subsequent group of birthdays. Those born between December 6, 1960 and January 5, 1961 will have to wait until they are 66 years and nine months old, while the next group will reach State Pension age at 66 years and 10 months.
The phased increase will eventually mean people born from March 6, 1961 onward have to wait until their 67th birthday to claim their State Pension.
The State Pension age is currently 66 for men and women but is rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028. The increase began on April 6, 2026, and affects people born between April 6, 1960 and April 5, 1961.
The exact age at which someone can claim depends on their date of birth, with the delay increasing by one month for each successive group. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes a timetable setting out these dates.
The latest increase comes amid calls for the State Pension age to be reduced to 65 for everyone. A public petition calling for the change has attracted thousands of signatures, with campaigners arguing that people in their mid-to-late 60s can face poor health, caring responsibilities and limited options to remain in work.
Tim Grimsditch, Managing Director of Unbiased, said a public petition calling for the State Pension age to be reduced to 65 for everyone had gathered more than 80,000 signatures and was approaching the 100,000 needed for Parliament to consider debating it. He said many people aged 65 to 67 face poor health, caring pressures and limited options to keep working, and that evidence on healthy life expectancy varying by income and occupation gives that argument weight.
Grimsditch added that the government has consistently rejected calls to lower the State Pension age, and that the Third State Pension Age Review is underway to determine what the age should be in future decades. He noted that the State Pension is one of the largest items of public spending, and that allowing earlier claims would mean paying it to more people for longer.
He described both sides as serious arguments.
He also said the timing matters for planning. The State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67, a change that began in April 2026 and completes in March 2028, affecting people born between March 1961 and August 1977.
Legislation already exists to take it to 68 after that. He said the practical issue for most people is the gap before the State Pension begins.
Private pensions can generally be accessed from 55, rising to 57 in April 2028, while the State Pension now arrives at 67. Someone who stops working at 63 through ill health or caring responsibilities would need to fund four years from their own provision.
The increase from 66 to 67 was brought forward under the Pensions Act 2014. The legislation changed the timetable so that the State Pension age for men and women would rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, rather than over the longer period previously planned.
The DWP said the Pensions Act 2014 brought the increase in the State Pension age from 66 to 67 forward by eight years. The government also changed how the increase is phased, so that people born between April 6, 1960 and March 5, 1961 will reach State Pension age at 66 years and a specified number of months rather than on a fixed date.
The DWP added that for people born after April 5, 1969 but before April 6, 1977, State Pension age was already set at 67 under the Pensions Act 2007.
