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The State Pension Age started rising to 67 on 6 May 2026: what it means for public sector pension members

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James Heppe-Smith

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14 min read

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Educational, not advice. This guide explains how the rules work. It doesn’t tell you what to do with your pension. For decisions that depend on your circumstances, talk to a regulated adviser or MoneyHelper.

State Pension Age rising to 67 in 2026 and what it means for public sector members
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Educational, not advice. This article explains the State Pension Age (SPA) transition from 66 to 67 that started on 6 May 2026 and what it means for members of the major UK public service pension schemes. Pension Plain is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. If you need a personal recommendation about your retirement timing, speak to a qualified FCA-authorised financial adviser or use the free MoneyHelper service.

Scope: This article covers when the State Pension Age starts rising from 66 to 67, who is affected, the birthdate-by-birthdate timing, the interaction with the frozen personal allowance, and what the change means for members of the NHS, Teachers’, LGPS, Civil Service, Armed Forces, Police, and Firefighters’ pension schemes specifically. It also touches on the still-pending SPA 68 review.

In short

  • The State Pension Age started rising from 66 to 67 on 6 May 2026. The full change will be in place by 6 March 2028.
  • People born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 are the transitional cohort. Their State Pension Age falls between 66 years and 1 month and 66 years and 11 months. Their claims fall between 6 May 2026 and 5 February 2028.
  • People born on or after 6 March 1961 have a State Pension Age of 67 from the outset.
  • The 2026/27 new State Pension is £241.30 a week (£12,547.60 a year), sitting just £22.40 below the frozen personal allowance of £12,570. With the personal allowance frozen until April 2028 and the triple lock continuing to uprate the state pension, LCP has said the state pension is certain to exceed the personal allowance from April 2027. This brings a small income tax bill for state-pension-only retirees for the first time.
  • For members on the reformed (2015) public service pension schemes, the scheme Normal Pension Age (NPA) is linked to the State Pension Age by law. The 6 May 2026 transition means the reformed-scheme NPA also rises to 67 over the same window. NHS 2015, Teachers’ 2015, Civil Service alpha, LGPS 2014 (career-average), AFPS 15 (most ranks), and Police 2015 are all affected.
  • For members with legacy-scheme accrual (NHS 1995/2008, Teachers’ final-salary, Classic, Premium, Nuvos, LGPS pre-2014, AFPS 75/05, Police 1987/2006, Fire 1992/2006), the scheme NPA is unchanged. Legacy NPAs of 60 or 65 remain. The McCloud remedy lets affected members choose between legacy and reformed accrual for the 2015-2022 remedy period, and the SPA 67 shift is one factor in that choice.
  • If you are taking your occupational pension before SPA 67, you may need to bridge from your scheme retirement age to your new State Pension Age. The bridge widens by up to 11 months for cohorts caught in the 2026-2028 transitional window.
  • The SPA 68 transition is provisional. The Williams review (2017) recommended bringing it forward to 2037-39; no current legislation has done so. Plan around SPA 67 for any reasonable horizon.

What changed on 6 May 2026

Under the Pensions Act 2014 (Schedule 12), the State Pension Age for both men and women begins rising from 66 to 67 in monthly increments starting on 6 May 2026. The full transition completes on 6 March 2028. The rise is phased so that the first transitional cohort (people born 6 April 1960 to 5 May 1960) reach State Pension Age at 66 years and 1 month on 6 May 2026, the next monthly cohort reach it at 66 years and 2 months, and so on through to those born 6 February 1961 to 5 March 1961 reaching State Pension Age at 66 years and 11 months on 5 February 2028.

From 6 March 2028 onwards, everyone born on or after 6 March 1961 has a State Pension Age of 67 outright. No further transitional cohorts; the SPA 67 regime is the standard from that date.

The legislation has been in place since 2014; the implementation date of 6 May 2026 was confirmed in the original Act. There is no policy change happening in 2026; what happens in 2026 is the implementation of a change Parliament made twelve years ago. The 2014 legislation followed an Independent Review of the State Pension Age (the Cridland Review, 2017) and earlier reviews going back to the Turner Commission in 2005, all of which recommended raising SPA in line with life expectancy.

The simplest practical way to check your own State Pension Age is the gov.uk Check Your State Pension Age service. It returns your specific SPA date based on your date of birth.

The transitional cohort: birthdate-by-birthdate

If you were born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961, you are in the transitional cohort. The table below sets out the State Pension Age and the date you reach it for each monthly slice within the cohort.

  • Born 6 April 1960 to 5 May 1960: SPA = 66 years 1 month. You reach SPA between 6 May 2026 and 4 June 2026.
  • Born 6 May 1960 to 5 June 1960: SPA = 66 years 2 months. You reach SPA between 6 July 2026 and 4 August 2026.
  • Born 6 June 1960 to 5 July 1960: SPA = 66 years 3 months. You reach SPA between 6 September 2026 and 4 October 2026.
  • Born 6 July 1960 to 5 August 1960: SPA = 66 years 4 months. You reach SPA between 6 November 2026 and 4 December 2026.
  • Born 6 August 1960 to 5 September 1960: SPA = 66 years 5 months. You reach SPA between 6 January 2027 and 4 February 2027.
  • Born 6 September 1960 to 5 October 1960: SPA = 66 years 6 months. You reach SPA between 6 March 2027 and 4 April 2027.
  • Born 6 October 1960 to 5 November 1960: SPA = 66 years 7 months. You reach SPA between 6 May 2027 and 4 June 2027.
  • Born 6 November 1960 to 5 December 1960: SPA = 66 years 8 months. You reach SPA between 6 July 2027 and 4 August 2027.
  • Born 6 December 1960 to 5 January 1961: SPA = 66 years 9 months. You reach SPA between 6 September 2027 and 4 October 2027.
  • Born 6 January 1961 to 5 February 1961: SPA = 66 years 10 months. You reach SPA between 6 November 2027 and 4 December 2027.
  • Born 6 February 1961 to 5 March 1961: SPA = 66 years 11 months. You reach SPA between 6 January 2028 and 4 February 2028.
  • Born 6 March 1961 onwards: SPA = 67. You reach SPA on or after 6 March 2028.

The schedule applies equally to men and women. The State Pension Age equalisation for women (the WASPI campaign issue) was completed before this transition began; from 2018 onwards, men and women have shared the same State Pension Age, and the 66→ 67 rise applies identically to both.

The personal allowance squeeze

The 2026/27 new State Pension is £241.30 a week, or £12,547.60 a year on a 52-week basis. The personal allowance is £12,570 a year and is frozen at that level until April 2028 under current legislation. The gap between the state pension and the personal allowance is £22.40.

The state pension is uprated each April under the triple lock formula (the higher of CPI, average earnings growth, or 2.5%). LCP has calculated that with September 2025 CPI at 3.8%, the 2026/27 state pension already absorbed most of the available headroom. From April 2027 onwards, on any reasonable assumption about CPI or earnings, the state pension will exceed the frozen £12,570 personal allowance and a small income tax bill will be due even for someone whose only income is the state pension.

This is a separate issue from the SPA 67 transition, but it interacts with it. For someone reaching State Pension Age in the 2026-28 transitional window, the first year of payments may straddle the April 2027 threshold. Half a year at £241.30 a week is £6,274 (within allowance); a full year from April 2027 onwards is likely to be slightly above £12,570 and therefore partly taxable. Most state-pension-only retirees will have a small tax bill (a few pounds to a few hundred pounds) collected via PAYE through any other income or via a self-assessment return. It is annoying rather than financially material, but it is the first time in recent history that the state pension on its own pulls a retiree into the income tax net.

What this means for public sector pension members

For public sector pension scheme members, the State Pension Age change has two layers of consequences. The first is the layer everyone in the UK shares: the State Pension itself pays out later. The second is the layer specific to the reformed (2015 onwards) public service pension schemes: the scheme Normal Pension Age is, by law, linked to State Pension Age, so the same change rolls through into the scheme rules.

Reformed (2015 onwards) schemes: scheme NPA tracks SPA

Under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013, the reformed schemes introduced from April 2015 were designed with a Normal Pension Age (NPA) equal to the member’s State Pension Age. The mechanics were deliberate: as SPA rises, scheme NPA rises with it. The reformed schemes in scope are:

  • NHS Pension Scheme 2015: NPA = SPA. For members born 6 April 1960 to 5 March 1961, NPA is between 66 years 1 month and 66 years 11 months.
  • Teachers’ Pension Scheme 2015 (career-average): NPA = SPA. Same transitional cohort treatment.
  • Civil Service alpha: NPA = SPA. Same treatment.
  • Local Government Pension Scheme 2014 (career-average): NPA = SPA. Same treatment.
  • Armed Forces Pension Scheme 2015: NPA = 60 for accrued benefits, but the deferred pension payable from State Pension Age tracks SPA. Members reaching deferred-payment age in the transitional window see the same monthly stagger.
  • Police 2015 and Fire 2015 schemes: NPA = 60 for accrued benefits in normal service. The deferred pension payable from State Pension Age also tracks SPA.
  • Judicial Pension Scheme 2015 and 2022: NPA = SPA.

For members of these reformed schemes, the 6 May 2026 State Pension Age transition is also the 6 May 2026 scheme NPA transition for the affected cohorts. If your service is wholly within the reformed scheme and you are in the transitional cohort, your scheme pension is now payable in full at 66 years and 1 month to 11 months rather than at 66 outright. You can still take the scheme pension earlier with actuarial reduction, or later with actuarial enhancement.

Legacy schemes: scheme NPA unchanged

The legacy public service schemes had their own Normal Pension Ages set when the schemes were designed. These are not linked to the State Pension Age and are not changing in 2026. Members with accrued legacy benefits draw those benefits at the legacy NPA regardless of where the State Pension Age sits. The main legacy NPAs are:

  • NHS 1995 section: NPA 60 (most members); 55 for special-class members (mental health officers and similar).
  • NHS 2008 section: NPA 65.
  • Teachers’ final-salary (pre-2007) and Teachers’ career-average (2007-2015) NPA 60 or 65 depending on which sub-scheme.
  • Civil Service Classic, Premium, Classic Plus: NPA 60. Civil Service Nuvos: NPA 65.
  • LGPS pre-2014: NPA 65 (most), 60 for protected members and rule-of-85 members.
  • AFPS 75 and AFPS 05: NPA varies by rank and service type.
  • Police 1987 and 2006: NPA 55 (1987) or 60 (2006) with full pension after 30 years service.
  • Fire 1992 and 2006: NPA 55 (1992) or 60 (2006).

The legacy NPAs are unchanged. A teacher who started in 2004, qualified for protection at the 2015 transition, and is still wholly within the final-salary scheme retires at NPA 60 regardless of when their State Pension Age falls. The state pension and the scheme pension are now separate ages by a wider margin than they used to be.

Mixed-service members (the McCloud cohort)

Most active public service members have a mix of legacy and reformed accrual because of the McCloud remedy. The remedy moved everyone who was in service on 31 March 2012 back into their legacy scheme for the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022 (the “remedy period”), then gives each member a choice at retirement between the legacy accrual (legacy NPA) and the reformed accrual (NPA = SPA) for that period.

The State Pension Age change is one factor in that choice. Legacy accrual gives you the pension at a lower NPA (typically 60); reformed accrual gives you the pension at SPA (now 66 + transitional months, rising to 67). For someone in good health expecting to live well past the legacy NPA, the reformed accrual at SPA may produce higher lifetime income because of the longer accrual period to retirement and the actuarial structure. For someone with health concerns or strong reasons to retire at the legacy NPA, the legacy accrual remains the simpler choice. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Our McCloud remedy tracker covers the choice-window mechanics scheme-by-scheme; our RSS explainer covers how to read the figures your scheme will send you.

The “bridging gap” for early retirement

One practical consequence of the SPA 67 transition is that the gap between your earliest scheme retirement age and your State Pension Age is now slightly wider. If you are an LGPS 2014 member who chooses to take your pension at 60 with actuarial reduction (or, in some cases, with rule-of-85 protection), you now need to bridge from 60 to your transitional-cohort SPA (66 + n months) or to SPA 67. The bridge has widened by up to 11 months for the transitional cohorts and by 12 months for everyone born on or after 6 March 1961.

The practical question is how to fund that bridge. The standard options are:

  • Actuarial reduction on the scheme pension. Take the scheme pension early; the income is lower for life but it bridges to and through SPA. The reduction factor varies by scheme but is broadly 4% to 5% per year of early payment.
  • Personal savings, ISAs, or AVCs. Bridge the gap with non-pension savings. The 2026/27 ISA allowance is £20,000 for under-65s (dropping to £12,000 for cash ISAs from April 2027; see our cross-link to the LGPS April 2026 changes piece for how this interacts with scheme contributions).
  • Partial early retirement. Some schemes allow members to take a portion of the pension and continue working. NHS, Teachers’, and LGPS all have partial retirement provisions worth examining if you want a gradual rather than abrupt income shift.
  • Defined contribution AVCs. If you have AVCs alongside the main scheme pension, the AVC pot can be drawn flexibly from age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028). It is one of the most useful bridge-funding tools for public sector members.

The widening of the bridge is small, less than one year, but it is the difference between “I can just about do this on the scheme pension at 60” and “I need a year of bridging income I had not budgeted for.” If you are within five years of an intended early retirement and on a legacy scheme NPA of 60, this is the moment to check your numbers.

What about SPA 68?

The next State Pension Age rise after 67 is currently scheduled for 2044-2046, based on the existing legislation (Pensions Act 2014). The Cridland Review in 2017 recommended bringing SPA 68 forward to 2037-2039; the Williams Review in 2023 made a similar recommendation. Neither has been legislated.

The Pensions Commission’s 19 May 2026 interim report (covered in our Pensions Commission piece) does not propose changes to State Pension Age. The state pension floor is currently being defended at SPA 67 through to the mid-2040s.

For anyone planning a retirement in the next 10-15 years, plan around State Pension Age 67. For those further out, treat SPA 68 in the late 2030s as the live possibility that current legislation does not yet reflect. The government has reaffirmed the commitment to give at least ten years’ notice of any further SPA change; the 2030s decisions will not blindside anyone close to retirement.

FAQ

I am 64 now. When will I reach State Pension Age?

It depends on your exact date of birth. Use the gov.uk Check Your State Pension Age service for your specific date. If you were born before 6 April 1960, your SPA was 66 and you may already have reached it. If you were born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961, you are in the transitional cohort and your SPA is somewhere between 66 years 1 month and 66 years 11 months. If you were born on or after 6 March 1961, your SPA is 67.

Does the State Pension Age change apply to my occupational public service pension?

It depends on which scheme you are in. For accrued benefits in the reformed (2015) schemes, the scheme Normal Pension Age is by law linked to State Pension Age and rises with it. For accrued benefits in the legacy schemes (NHS 1995/2008, Teachers’ final-salary, Classic, Premium, Nuvos, LGPS pre-2014, AFPS 75/05, Police 1987/2006, Fire 1992/2006), the scheme NPA is unchanged. Most active members have a mix of legacy and reformed accrual because of the McCloud remedy; the SPA 67 change affects the reformed portion only.

Can I still retire at 60 if I want to?

Yes. The State Pension Age does not determine when you retire from work; it determines when the state pension starts paying. Most public service schemes allow members to take the occupational pension from age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028) with actuarial reduction, and many legacy-scheme NPAs are 60. You can retire whenever you want; the question is how to bridge the income gap between leaving work and the state pension starting.

What about Pension Credit and other benefits?

Pension Credit, Winter Fuel Payment, and the Christmas Bonus are tied to State Pension Age. If you reach SPA later than expected because of the transitional cohort treatment, the date you become eligible for these other benefits also moves. The government’s broader benefit reforms (the Universal Credit transition, Pension Credit means-testing changes) interact with this in ways outside the scope of this article; MoneyHelper has free guidance on the benefits side.

Will the state pension still go up under the triple lock?

The triple lock is the current uprating mechanism for the new State Pension. It applies regardless of where SPA sits. The 2026/27 uprating took the new State Pension to £241.30 a week. The triple lock has been confirmed for the current Parliament but is subject to political review; the Pensions Commission’s final report in early 2027 may make recommendations on its continuation.

If I keep working past State Pension Age, can I still get the state pension?

Yes. You can claim the state pension while continuing to work; the two are independent. You can also choose to defer claiming the state pension, which increases the eventual payment by approximately 5.8% per year of deferral (1% for every nine weeks deferred). Whether deferring is worth it depends on your tax position, your other income, and how long you expect to live; MoneyHelper has a deferral calculator.

I have less than 35 years of National Insurance contributions. Does that affect my new State Pension?

Yes. The new State Pension is based on your National Insurance record; 35 qualifying years gets the full £241.30 a week, fewer years gives a proportional reduction. You can check your record and see whether voluntary contributions would top up your entitlement at the gov.uk Check Your State Pension forecast service. Public sector workers in occupational schemes have historically been “contracted out” of part of the state pension before April 2016, which may produce a starting deduction. The forecast service shows the actual figure.

Pension Plain’s take

The 6 May 2026 State Pension Age transition is a date Parliament set twelve years ago that is finally arriving. For most public service pension members it changes very little in immediate cash terms, but it adjusts three things worth knowing about: the date your state pension actually starts; the scheme NPA on your reformed (2015) accrual; and the slight widening of the bridge if you plan to retire from work before SPA.

The interaction with the frozen personal allowance is the bit that will surprise most state-pension-only retirees. From April 2027 onwards, the new State Pension on its own is likely to exceed the personal allowance and produce a small income tax bill. The numbers are not large, tens of pounds rather than hundreds for most, but it is the first time the state pension on its own has triggered income tax in recent memory.

The genuinely useful thing to do is the same boring thing as ever: check your State Pension Age on the gov.uk service, check your National Insurance record (35 qualifying years for the full new State Pension), and if you are within five years of an intended early retirement, model your scheme pension and any bridging income against your new SPA date. Most public service members are well placed because the scheme pension is doing most of the work; the state pension is the smaller, later top-up.

Information, not advice. This article explains the State Pension Age transition from 66 to 67 that started on 6 May 2026 and its interaction with the major UK public service pension schemes. It is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Pension Plain is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The figures cited reflect publicly available rules as of May 2026 and may be subject to legislative or regulatory change. For a personal recommendation about your retirement timing, speak to a qualified, FCA-authorised financial adviser or use the free MoneyHelper service.

Key sources

Last updated 12 June 2026

Written by

James Heppe-Smith
James Heppe-Smith is the editor of Pension Plain. He founded The Savvy Investor’s Guide and writes about UK pensions, ISAs, SIPPs and tax-efficient saving. Pension Plain reflects his preference for primary sources and plain English over jargon. He is not an FCA-regulated adviser and Pension Plain does not provide regulated financial advice.