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| State pension age rise brought forward | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Six million men and women in their 40s will have to wait a year longer to get their state pension, the government has announced. | |
| The rise in the pension age to 68 will now be phased in between 2037 and 2039, rather than from 2044 as was originally proposed. | |
| Those affected are currently between the ages of 39 and 47. | |
| The announcement was made in the Commons by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Gauke. | |
| He said the government had decided to accept the recommendations of the Cridland report, which proposed the change. | |
| "As life expectancy continues to rise and the number of people in receipt of state pension increases, we need to ensure that we have a fair and sustainable system that is reflective of modern life and protected for future generations," he told MPs. | |
| 'Cocktail of ill health' | |
| The change will affect those born between 6 April 1970 and 5 April 1978. | |
| The government said the new rules would save the taxpayer £74bn by 2045/46. | |
| Labour said the move was "astonishing", given recent reports suggesting increases in life expectancy were beginning to stall, and long-standing health inequalities between different income groups and regions in retirement. | |
| Shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams told MPs that many men and women were beginning to suffer ill health in the early 60s, well before they were entitled to their state pension. | |
| "Most pensioners will now spend their retirement battling a toxic cocktail of ill-health," she said. | |
| "The government talks about making Britain fairer but their pensions policy, whether it is the injustice that 1950s-born women are facing, or today's proposals, is anything but fair." | |
| The SNP said it remained opposed to raising the pension age beyond 66 and reiterated its call for an independent pensions commission to be set up to look at "demographic differences across the UK". | |
| In response, Mr Gauke said the Scottish government would have the power to provide extra financial help for those approaching retirement if they so chose. | |
| Are you between the ages of 39 and 47? How will the State pension age increase affect you? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories. | |
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