Reports and Briefing Notes

The Guarantee Credit & state pension age: A PPI paper for the TUC

The Government proposed in the recent White Paper that state pension age (SPA) should be increased to age 66 by 2026, 67 by 2036 and age 68 by 2046. One concern often expressed about increases in SPA is that there is variation in life expectancy by social class. This suggests that any change in SPA will disproportionately affect these individuals. Eligibility for means-tested Guarantee Credit (GC) is currently set at age 60 but is intended to rise to 65 by 2020, and then to rise in line with SPA from 2024. 

The TUC sponsored the PPI to provide an independent assessment of the potential implications of keeping the eligibility age for Guarantee Credit (GC) at 65 as state pension age (SPA) increases from 2024.

Chapter one provides an independent analysis of the most recent data on the longevity gap by social class and area of deprivation, and the implications of increasing SPA.

Chapter two examines the characteristics of current GC claimants aged below SPA, and considers how these may change if the policy of a minimum age for GC below SPA were maintained.

Chapter three provides a broad analysis of the potential number of individuals who may be eligible for GC if the qualification age were kept below SPA, and the potential cost of implementing such a policy.

Executive Summary