State pension age warning as millions face 'financial risk'

Older Brits may be in for a shock when the state pension age changes next year, new research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has revealed. From 2026, the pension age is due to climb from 66 to 67 for those born on or after April 1960, but an IFS study has found that huge numbers of Brits in their sixties don't know about changes.

Despite the information being published by the IFS found that 59% of people surveyed were wrong about when they would receive their state pension. An incredible 42% believed they would only get their state pension years after they actually would.

Of those asked, 12% believed they would get their pension sooner than the reality. While 5% conceded they had no idea when they would become eligible for payments. According to the study, 22% believed they would get their pension sooner than they actually will.

If older Brits are unsure when their pension comes in, then their financial decisions may be poorly informed. The IFS experts warned: "Together this means that more than one in five people have knowledge gaps that can lead to them making possibly poor decisions about their savings or when they retire."

The researchers added that the findings suggest "people who are potentially less financially secure are more likely to face financial risk because of their lack of understanding."

They went on: "Some of those people may therefore be making these critical decisions based on incorrect assumptions about when they can start claiming the state pension."