Union calls on David Gauke to delay state pension age increase
A "period of stability" for the state pension age is needed and so the government should postpone any increase decision, the union Prospect has said.
In a letter to new work and pensions minister David Gauke, the union said the hung parliament result in the general election means the government does not have an automatic mandate to increase the state pension age.
The Conservative manifesto pledged to amend the age so that it "reflects increases in life expectancy, while protecting each generation fairly".
Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy wrote, however, that the increased turnout in the youth vote signalled their views needed to be taken more into account.
"While the Conservative party manifesto commitment is important, the indecisive nature of the general election result means that due weight must also be given to other views," he wrote.
"It is clear that young people in particular were motivated in the general election by a range of issues including a perception that their generation has not been treated as fairly as previous generations. Bringing forward future increases in state pension age would be the wrong signal to send to young people at this time."
The letter added that the decision does not need to be made for 10 years if the government opts to increase the state pension age to 68 in 2037, and so a small delay now would not have a major impact.
The union also said, by waiting three years, "there will be mortality data to confirm or contradict current trends and provide much more certainty" on longevity estimates to inform the decision.
The Continuous Mortality Investigation (CMI) earlier this year reduced its longevity assumptions for both men and women.
The government was due to respond to John Cridland's independent review of the state pension age, which was published in March, by 7 May 2017 but deliberately missed the deadline due to the calling of the snap general election.
It is now expected that it will publish its response over the coming weeks, when Parliament sits again. However, due to the informal pact with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) currently being negotiated, the response may be amended to reflect the Northern Irish party's views on the matter.
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