Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment his Department carried out before raising the pension age to 68 for prison officers.

HM Treasury published an Impact Assessment in September 2012 on the Public Service Pensions Bill, which later became the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. This Act links the Normal Pension Age for public sector workers (including prison officers) to the State Pension Age. Under current legislation, the State Pension Age will rise to 68 for those born 6 April 1978 onwards. The justification for linking the two ages is to keep the Normal Pension Age for public service schemes in line with developments in longevity, ensuring the sustainability of the schemes and managing the risk to the taxpayer. The UK Government had extensive engagement with the Scottish Government and with trade unions before the reformed public service schemes, as outlined in the Act, were introduced in 2015.

Regular consideration of State Pension age is necessary to ensure that the pensions system remains sustainable as life expectancy grows. The first Government review of State Pension age was published earlier this year, in line with the framework introduced by the 2014 Pensions Act for regular and structured reviews of State Pension age to be held at least once every six years. The review can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630065/state-pension-age-review-final-report.pdf