The state pension age represents the earliest point at which someone in the UK can access their state pension. Beginning in April 2026, it will rise from 66 to 67 through a gradual rollout over the following two years.

Further increases to the DWP state pension age remain under consideration, leaving middle-aged employees unclear about precisely when they’ll be eligible to retire with their state pension. While this has generated some anxiety, one expert suggests certain people could actually gain from both current and upcoming state pension age increases, though she warned workers to ensure they’re well-informed ahead of making any big decisions.

Dr Kathy Hartley, Interim Subject Head of the Human Resource Management Group at the University of Salford, suggested that state pension age rises could provide some people with additional time to accumulate retirement savings and enhance their financial security in later life by working longer than previous generations might have done.

She explained: “In one sense, some workers have been choosing to remain in employment beyond what was once the norm for some time now, particularly since the default retirement age of 65 was removed back in 2011.

“For some, this is clearly beneficial financially, even if it involves reduced hours or, in some cases, less strenuous forms of work, especially in the context of rising living costs. Others remain in roles they find intrinsically interesting, feel motivated and healthy, and see no reason to stop what they have been doing.”

Even in situations where additional years in the workforce could prove advantageous for employees, Dr Hartley highlighted the potential risks this poses for employers, as an ageing workforce may bring increasing disruptions in terms of performance and wellbeing.

Those who have undergone mid-life career changes are another group that might reap the rewards of a few extra years in the workforce, with the expert noting that people over 60 making “new starts” are becoming increasingly common.

She added: “Some older workers decide to take on new challenges, perhaps working part-time at what they have done for years while combining this with other forms of work that may have interested them for some time, effectively creating a new or ‘portfolio career’ later in life.”

Irrespective of where people find themselves in their professional lives and when they anticipate accessing their state pension, the expert urged: “One thing that many of us need, however, is greater ‘financial literacy’, or simply to pay closer attention to the state of our pension pot and what kind of future it is likely to provide.

“For more of us to have genuine choice over whether to stay in the workplace for longer, financial understanding and planning will be key, as will employer support in relation to flexible working and adjustments. Such support has risen in recent years, driven by various changes in employment law, and the need for this – along with open conversations about employees’ longer-term aspirations – is unlikely to lessen.”

Dr Hartley acknowledged that for young people beginning their careers, predicting what the state pension age will be when they reach their 60s proves extremely challenging, and she disclosed this is already evident in the labour market.

She continued: “Younger people (are) less inclined to rush into paid employment than previous generations. Pressure on entry-level jobs, combined with expectations of working into one’s later years (70 and beyond,) may help to explain some of this hesitancy.”