DWP urges people born on certain dates to check state pension age

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is urging people born between certain dates to check when they will be eligible to claim the state pension. The age for men and women is 66 - but this is set to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

In a post on X, formerly , the wrote: “Born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961? Check today to find out what your State Pension age will be.”

People born on April 6, 1960 will reach state pension age of 66 on May 6, 2026 while those born on March 5, 1961 will reach state pension age of 67 on February 5, 2028.

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A further increase to 68 is due to happen between 2044 and 2046. There previously have been calls for this to be brought forward to between 2037 and 2039 - but a decision on this has been delayed.

You can check your own state pension age on the website by entering your date of birth. The state pension age is the earliest you can start claiming the state pension.

The new state pension is worth £230.30 a week, while the older basic state pension is £176.45 a week. You may get less than this if you don't have enough National Insurance contributions.

For the new state pension, most people need 35 qualifying years on their National Insurance record to get the full amount. You claim the new state pension if you are a man who was born on or after April 6, 1951, or a woman who was born on or after April 6, 1953.

The basic state pension is claimed by men born before April 6, 1951, and women born before April 6, 1953. Your state pension is separate to any private or workplace pension you may have.

The earliest age you can access your private is currently 55 - but this will rise to 57 from April 6, 2028. There will still be some exceptions where you can still access your private pensions earlier, for example, if you are seriously ill.

You may also have a protected pension age with your pension scheme, which would allow you to access your retirement funds at 55 or 56.

This varies between different pension schemes, so if you have multiple pensions, you may not have a protected age with all of them. For example, your pension scheme may specifically say you can access your pension from 55.

It is important to read the rules of your pension scheme carefully if you are considering transferring it elsewhere, as you could potentially lose the protection of being able to access your pension from 55.

Some pension providers will continue to protect it Some people who were in certain jobs - usually people in physically demanding jobs, such as sportspeople or police officers - may also have lower pension ages.