Poverty fears over pushing pension age to 70

The push to increase the eligibility age for the state pension to 70 is gaining ground despite fears it will force older people into poverty if they can’t keep working the extra years.

The Government-funded think-tank, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), has strength-ened its view that one of the ways to deal with the growing costs of the ageing population is to make people work longer.

Currently, workers have to wait until they are 66 before they can claim the pension. That’s despite many being forced to retire at 65 — the statutory retirement age in the public sector which is traditionally matched in many private industries.