Increasing from 66 to 67, an individual\u2019s exact date of birth will affect when they can start claiming<\/a>, with some having to delay their retirement by a month compared to someone born just a day earlier.<\/p>\n The planned changes have been set since 2014, and will affect men and women equally. While people can choose to retire earlier than this date<\/a>, and may choose to do so if they have a private pension, the state pension age is the earliest anyone can begin claiming the government-provided pension.<\/p>\n Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, said: \u201cThe state pension is the bedrock upon which millions of Brits build their retirement plans. However, the sands are shifting, with a long-trailed hike in the state pension age to 67 kicking off from April this year and completing in 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the short term that is a recipe for confusion \u2013 many of those affected during the transition will inevitably be completely unaware that this is happening and have to plug an income gap, albeit potentially only for a few months, as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2026, all workers<\/a> born after April 1960 will start to see their state pension<\/a> age rise. Here\u2019s what that could mean for you:<\/p>\n The exact date of birth is important, with 5 April 1960 the last birthday to keep the retirement<\/a> age of 66.<\/p>\n For those born on or after 6 April 1960, this will rise to 66 years and one month, and will continue to rise by an extra month on the 6th of every month.<\/p>\n This will continue until 6 March 1961, with those born on or after that day having a retirement age of 67.<\/p>\n Get a free fractional share worth up to \u00a3100. Terms and conditions apply.<\/p>\n Go to website<\/a><\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Get a free fractional share worth up to \u00a3100. Terms and conditions apply.<\/p>\n Go to website<\/a><\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Under current plans, this will apply for those born before 5 April 1977 \u2013 the last date of birth with a retirement age of 67. After this, it will increase monthly in a similar process to what is planned next year.<\/p>\n This also won\u2019t be the last state pension<\/a> age increase most UK workers see in their lifetimes. Current legislation will see the age rise from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046.<\/p>\n There is speculation that this could be brought forward following Labour\u2019s upcoming pension review, announced in July last year. However, any change to the state pension age must come with at least 10 years\u2019 notice.<\/p>\n Since 2015, campaigners for the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI<\/a>) group have called for successive governments to provide redress due to the inadequate communication of state pension changes for women born between 1950 and 1960. The group was recently told for a second time <\/a>that there will be no compensation scheme.<\/p>\n![\"Trading](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/mobile-stores\/Trading_212.svg\")
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Capital at risk.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Capital at risk.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-1281173455.jpg\")
The state pension age is set to rise this year (Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/p>\n