Upcoming changes to the State Pension Age and Normal Minimum Pension Age

As an employer, it’s likely that you have employees who are in the latter changes of their careers and are approaching retirement.

When considering retirement, there are two important pension “retirement ages” that these individuals need to be aware of:

1. State Pension age (SPA): when you can claim the State Pension.
2. Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA): the earliest most people can access workplace or personal pensions without tax penalties.

Both are experiencing changes in the next few years and below we ‘ve summarised when the changes are happening:

Key dates

• The State Pension age is currently 66; however, this is set to rise to 67 between 6 April 2026 and 5 April 2028. A government review launched in July 2025 will confirm if/when it moves to 68 later (currently legislated for 2044–46).
• The Normal Minimum Pension Age (private/workplace pensions) will rise from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028. Some people will keep a protected pension age of 55/56 under specific scheme rules.

State Pension age (SPA)

The SPA (the earliest you can access your State Pension) is currently 66 for men and women.

• Those born on or before 5 April 1960 are not affected.
• Those born between 6 April 1960 – 5 March 1961 will have a phased increase (66 + 1–11 months).
• Those born between 6 March 1961 – 5 April 1977 will have a State Pension age of 67 years old.

People born after 5 April 1977 are currently scheduled for a rise to 68 years old under existing law.

You can check your own State Pension age here.

Minimum age to access workplace/personal pensions (NMPA)

The NMPA (the earliest you can access your private or workplace pensions) is currently 55 for men and women.

• Those born on or before 6 April 1971 are not affected
• Those born between 7 April 1971 – 5 April 1973 are in a ‘two-year window’. They can access at 55 before the change, but if they wait past 5 April 2028 they must wait to 57. This applies to any existing ongoing withdrawals too.
• Those born on or after 6 April 1973 will have a NMPA of 57 years old

Protected Pension Age (PPA): the big exception

Uniformed public service schemes for armed forces, police and firefighters are exempt from this increase.

Some people will keep the right to access at 55 (or 56) after 6 April 2028 if their scheme gave them an “unqualified right” to take benefits before 57 and the rules were in place by the relevant cut-off dates (notably 11 Feb 2021 / 4 Nov 2021). Protection is scheme-specific and can be affected by transfers.

If individuals or employees are planning on taking pension benefits at 55 years old, we recommend individuals check with their pension provider or seek financial advice to check whether any protected ages apply before making transfers. For those who are affected by the change and want to retire early, we‘d suggest seeking financial advice to plan for this ‘transitional’ period.

The information provided is for general guidance only and reflects our understanding of HMRC rules at the time of writing. It does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Employers should seek specific advice from their accountant or tax adviser to ensure the approach taken is appropriate for their circumstances.