State Pension age should be dropped to 63 for all, a petition has argued, to ‘help elderly people’ across the United Kingdom.

State pension age is currently set at 66, following gradual increases in the last few years. Traditionally, state pension age was set at 60 for women and 65 for men, but age parity was reached in November 2018. Subsequently, Britons have seen this rise since to 66, with further increases planned later down the line.

Entitled “Reduce the state pension to 63 for all”, it has been published on the official Parliament website.

Childcare

Amongst several reasons, the petition cites the need to “free up grandparents to support their children with childcare when they are working”.

With childcare costs often described as burdensome by working parents, the petition posits familial care as a solution which could be reached by a lower state pension age.

It continues: “Some jobs may not be able to be done the older we get, for example bricklayers or HGV drivers.”

“Of course, there will always be an exception with some elderly people being more able than others.”

Employment for the young

The petition has also referenced the job market, suggesting an earlier ability to retire could help younger people gain further chances to become employed.

Furthermore, it stated, a younger state pension age can “protect elderly people from needing to work if their job is too demanding”.

700 signatures

Currently, the petition has garnered a little over 700 signatures, meaning it is way off gaining a formal government response.

It is at 10,000 signatures the government will officially respond to this petition.

If a petition gains 100,000 signatures, however, it could be considered for debate in the Commons.

The state pension age is increasing due to a rise in life expectancy within the UK.

The government has asserted that British citizens are more likely to spend a larger proportion of their adult lives in retirement than ever before.

Forecast tools

Those who wish to find out more about their state pension can use the official forecast tool.

Accessible online, it can tell Britons when they can expect to retire, with how much, and how they might be able to increase their sum.

The government’s state pension calculator can also show entitlements such as pension credit and free bus travel.

Previously, a DWP spokesperson stated: “The government decided over 25 years ago that it was going to make the state pension age the same for men and women as a long-overdue move towards gender equality.”

“Raising state pension age in line with life expectancy changes has been the policy of successive administrations over many years.”