Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of reducing the pension age of women by one year back to the age of 66 from the 2017-18 tax year.

The State Pension age is currently 64 for women and 65 for men.

The State Pension age is due to reach 67 for both genders by March 2028.

We do not have an estimate of the cost of the state pension age of women being reduced to 61, 62, 63 or 64 from the 2017-18 tax year. This could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

In the longer-term we estimate that reducing the state pension age by one year compared to the legislated timetable might lead to an increase in expenditure on state pensions of around 0.3% of GDP.

The Department has published a number of documents that could be used to provide illustrative estimates of the costs of some changes for some time periods.

In terms of the cost of the state pension age of women being reduced to 60, the Department submitted written evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee in February 2016, producing an illustrative estimate of the costs of reversing the current legislated increases in women’s State Pension age until 2020/21 – i.e. keeping women’s State Pension age at 60 for women born in the 1950s. The illustrative estimate (illustrative as it was based on a number of high-level assumptions) indicated that it would cost £9.8 billion (in 2015/16 price terms) in the tax year 2017/18 were female state pension age to be 60 instead of the currently legislated state pension age in 2017/18, of between 63¾ and 64½. Keeping female State Pension age at 60 in 2020/21 would cost £14.3 billion (in 2015/16 price terms) compared to the legislated state pension age that year, of between 65¾ and 66. Keeping female State Pension age at 60 beyond 2020/21 would incur further costs.

In terms of an estimate for the state pension age of women being reduced to 65, the impact assessment for the Pensions Act 2011 illustrates the estimated savings of bringing forward the rise in state pension age for both genders from 65 to 66 by five and a half years from 2024-26 to complete by October 2020. For example, in 2023/24, when State Pension age will be 66 under the legislated timetable, compared to 65 under the previous timetable, expenditure on state pensions is expected to be £5.9 billion lower (in 2011/12 price terms). Keeping female State Pension age at 65 beyond 2026 would incur further costs. For more information see: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181462/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexa.pdf

In terms of for the cost of the state pension age of women being reduced to 66, the impact assessment for the Pensions Act 2014 illustrates the estimated savings of bringing forward the rise in state pension age for both genders from 66 to 67 by eight years from 2034-36 to 2026-28. The Pensions Act 2014 was estimated to reduce expenditure on state pensions by £76.5 billion over the period 2026/27 to 2035/36 inclusive (in 2013/14 price terms). Keeping female State Pension age at 66 beyond 2036 would incur further costs. For more information see: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/310746/pensions-act-ia-annex-b-state-pension-age.pdf