Commentary on Sections Part 3 – Pensionable Age Section 27: Periodic review of rules about pensionable age
126.This section makes provision for a periodic review by the Secretary of State of the pensionable age in light of changes in life expectancy and other relevant factors. It also requires the Secretary of State to prepare and publish a report in relation to the review. The first report must be published before 7 May 2017. This is two years after the polling day for the next parliamentary general election as provided under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Future reports must then be published within six years of the previous report. The Government has announced that it intends to consider whether the rules relating to pensionable age are appropriate every five years (once every parliament). However, the reference to six years allows some flexibility around the report’s publication date.
127.To inform the review, the Secretary of State must commission the Government Actuary or Deputy Government Actuary to prepare a report on whether the rules on pensionable age mean that, on average, a person who reaches pensionable age within a specified period can be expected to spend a specified proportion of his or her adult life in retirement (with the proportion of a person’s adult life spent in retirement being the proportion of his or her adult life spent after reaching pensionable age). If the rules on pensionable age mean that this is not the case, the report will suggest how the rules might be changed to attain the result. The Secretary of State will specify both the age at which adult life is to be taken as beginning and the proportion of adult life in retirement when commissioning the report from the Government Actuary or Deputy Government Actuary.
128.In addition to the report from the Government Actuary or Deputy Government Actuary, the Secretary of State must also appoint a panel of one or more persons to consider factors relevant to the pensionable age. The panel must prepare a report for the Secretary of State. When appointing the panel, the Secretary of State will specify the relevant factors.
129.The Secretary of State will consider both of these reports when reviewing whether pensionable age should change. If any change to pensionable age is decided upon the Government would introduce primary legislation to this end.