Pension provider Aegon has urged the Government to consider a more flexible State Pension age and allowing early pension access to some people amid fears of further “significant” increases in the State Pension age up to 74 and the risk it could cause harm to many.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has called on the Department for Work and Pensions to consider paying compensation to women born in the 1950s hit by the increase in the State Pension age.

The UK will have to increase the state pension age to 71 by 2050 to maintain the number of workers per retiree, according to a new report from the International Longevity Centre UK.

Half (49%) of workers in the UK plan to work beyond State Pension age, with the average expected retirement age of 72.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s National Insurance (NI) cuts, which come into effect on Saturday, could hit the future funding of the state pension and current triple lock.

A major new study has found that a quarter of people (24%) are in the dark about the age they will receive their State Pension - including 10% of those aged 55 to 64.

Retirees are set to receive a 8.5% increase to their State Pension from April next year as CPI inflation held steady at 6.7% for the year ending September.

The latest official wage growth figures published today by the ONS means the state pension should hit £11,501 in April 2024, a 8.5% rise, up from £10,600 this year.

The annual growth in average pay including bonuses hit 8.2% in June, according to figures published this morning by the Office for National Statistics.

Former Pensions Minister Baroness Altmann has called on policymakers to look at other ways to solve rising state pension costs than raising the starting age, cutting the amount or more means-testing.