IFS Zooms In: The Economy Will everyone have to work until they are 67?
Mar 26, 2026
Heidi Karjalainen, a pensions and welfare policy economist, and Jonathan Cribb, a pensions and labour markets researcher, explore rising state pension age and its effects. They discuss what the pension age means in practice. They examine who can and cannot work into their late 60s, how private pensions and health shape retirement, and whether a single pension age makes sense for everyone.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
State Pension Age Is Eligibility Not Mandatory Retirement
- The state pension age is simply the age you become eligible for the state pension, not a mandated retirement age.
- Jonathan Cribb highlights many people retire before or after it because the system lets people draw pension and work simultaneously.
Three Purposes Of The State Pension
- The state pension serves three roles: anti-poverty protection, a base income layer across the distribution, and longevity insurance.
- Jonathan Cribb emphasises it underpins private pensions and guarantees lifelong income until death.
State Pension Is Pay As You Go Not A Personal Pot
- The UK state pension is pay-as-you-go: current tax receipts fund today's pensioners rather than personal 'pots'.
- Heidi Karjalainen reminds listeners qualifying years are recorded but contributions don't create a saved pot.