State pension age to rise to 66

The changes will come into effect from October 6 2020, which is the first rise that will affect both men and women

Retirees will have to wait until they're 66 to claim their state pension after the minimum age is hiked from next week.

Anyone born after October 5 1954 will have to wait until they're at least 66 before they can access their state-paid retirement fund.

The changes will come into effect a week today, from October 6 2020.

It's the first rise that will affect men as well as women, and will go up from the current state pension age of 65.

For some women, this will be six years after they were originally told that they would be able to claim their retirement fund.

The state pension age is expected to be increased again to 67 in 2028 and to 68 from 2037.

The government hopes that making workers wait longer until they can claim the payout is to make it more affordable as we live longer.

At the moment, the state pension is worth £175.20 a week, or £134.25 a week for those who retired before April 2016.

Many retirees rely on the benefit as their many source of income, with latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) suggesting that it makes up 43% of the average weekly pensioner income.

Typically, this is topped up by a private pension, workplace pension or extra earnings if a retiree continues to work.

For most people, relying on the state pension alone won’t provide the lifestyle they want in retirement, said Steve Cameron, pensions director at Aegon.

He added that it's "vital to plan ahead" by making extra savings through a private or workplace pension for example.

Steve said: The sooner people start on that journey the longer their contributions have to grow with investment returns.

Private provision also offers more flexibility and could allow for a more gradual transition to retirement rather than having to keep working till a state pension age which could rise to 68 in the future, he said.

The last rise was in November 2018, when the age for women to claim the state pension was brought in line with men and was increased from 60 to 65.

The government wants to bring forward setting the minimum state pension age to 68 to between 2037 and 2039 but this has not become law.

Some retirees will have to wait until they're older until they can claim the state pension because it's calculated based on your national insurance record.