Experts say the retirement age will soon have to rise to 71

It's yet more bad news about the retirement age...

Currently, the state pension age is 66, and set to rise to 67 at some point between May 2026 and March 2028.

It is expected that it will rise to 68 years old from 2044.

However, it is anticipated that middle aged workers will not be able to claim their state pension until they are into their 70s.

People born after 1970 are predicted to be affected, with some experts warning that the age may rise even further due to many workers leaving the workforce early due to ill health.

"In the UK, state pension age would need to be 70 or 71 compared with 66 now, to maintain the status quo of the number of workers per state pensioner," Les Mayhew, associate head of global research at the International Longevity Centre and author of the State Pension Age and Demographic Change report, told The Guardian.

“But if you bring preventable ill health into the equation, that would have to increase even more,” he added.

Head of retirement at the Institute for Fiscal Studies Jonathan Cribb said of the change: “It would disproportionately impact poorer individuals whose ill-health means they have shorter lives, and so who receive pensions for less time.”

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