The changes are being phased in between 2010 and 2020. The pension age for women born on or after 6 April 1950 will gradually increase to 65 between 2010 and 2020. From 6 April 2020 the pension age will be 65 for both men and women.
In practical terms this means that women born on or before 5 April 1950 can claim a retirement pension at age 60 but those born on or after 6 April 1955 won't be able to claim until aged 65. For those women who are born between these dates they will recieve their pension depending on their date of birth.
How does this affect my Housing and Council Tax Benefit (HB/CTB)?
From 6th April if you are under 60 the date you will receive your State Pension on retirement will change. Also for the purposes of calculating your entitlement to HB/CTB you will only become a "pensioner" at a later date.
For example:
A man whose date of birth is 1st March 1950 would only receive his State Pension at 65. However, for HB/CTB calculation purposes we would treat him as a pensioner from 1st March 2010.
A man whose date of birth is 7th June 1950 would only receive his State Pension at 65 in 2015. For HB/CTB calculation purposes we would treat him as a pensioner from 6th September 2010.
In general, the date you become eligible for Pension Credit will be the date we will treat you as a pensioner for HB/CTB. You can check below the dates you would become entitled on the Pension Credit retirement calculator below.
If you are not entitled to Pension Credit, you would need to contact us for a calculation.
How does this affect other benefits?
The changes to retirement pension mean that other benefits will be affected:-
The age for claiming Pension Credit (external link) for men and women will also increase from 60 to 65. Between 6 April 2010 and 5 April 2020 the age from which a person may get Pension Credit will change. It will gradually rise in line with the increase in the pension age for women from 60 to 65.
Check out the Pension Credit website (external link) retirement calculator to check when you will receive your State Pension.
Women will be able to continue to claim 'working age' benefits like Income Support (external link), Jobseekers Allowance (external link) or Employment and Support Allowance (external link) until they are 65.
Winter Fuel Payments (external link) minimum age will increase from 60 to 65
