State pension age to hit 80 without reforms, expert warns
The state pension age is already set to rise to 68 by 2048, but this is under review after the cost of the benefit hit £138bn a year.
In its new report, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that rising life expectancy and the triple lock could push the cost to £200bn by 2073.
However, Jack Carmichael, of consultants Barnett Waddingham, estimated that the true increase could be as much as £8bn a year higher – requiring huge increases in either the state pension age or National Insurance contributions.
According to the OBR, the total outlay on the current state pension is equivalent to around 5pc of the UK's GDP.
In a report released last month however, it warned that a combination of the country's ageing population and the triple lock could significantly increase the long-term cost.
In its main estimate, known as the central projection, the OBR predicted the state pension would hit 7.7pc of GDP by 2073-74, or around £200bn in today's terms.
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