A committee of MPs has urged the Government to consider increasing universal credit for 66-year-olds to help prevent financial hardship caused by the “lottery of life” as the state pension age rises. The State Pension age in the UK is gradually increasing from 66 to 67. This change is being phased in for anyone born on or after April 6, 1960. If you were born between April 1960 and March 1961, your pension age will be 66 and a specified number of months. For those born on or after March 6, 1961, the State Pension age is officially 67.

The Work and Pensions Committee has now said it is backing calls for the Government to increase universal credit for 66-year-olds. Universal credit is a means-tested benefit payment for people of working-age who are on a low income, out of work or can’t work. The committee said ministers should consult on the change with a view to putting it in place by the end of the year as a temporary measure, allowing time for longer-term support to be developed.

The committee said there is evidence that the longer wait for the State Pension will “harm” some 66-year-olds who are unable to continue working until they reach 67. The committee warned that a growing number of 66-year-olds may have to rely on the standard rate of universal credit of around £425 a month for longer, despite worsening health.

The report said: “For many, this will be a year of hardship, on inadequate working age benefits, potentially depleting savings they were relying on to support them in retirement.”

It added: “On balance we support increasing the level of universal credit (UC) for all recipients in the year before state pension age because it has a greater impact in reducing poverty and hardship.

“We recommend it as a short-term approach, to mitigate the impact of the increase to 67, which has already started. We propose using UC on the basis that it should enable support to be provided quickly.

“We recognise that the impact on work incentives is a consideration. However, the proposal is for a modest increase in support in the year before state pension age. Those out of the labour market at this point in their lives are very unlikely to return to it.”

Those on low incomes can claim pension credit, but only once they have reached state pension age which the committee argues leaves many pre-pensioners, particularly those with health problems, caring responsibilities or physically demanding work, reliant on savings intended for retirement.

The MPs also highlighted regional inequalities, saying ill-health and disability are more common in deprived areas where employment opportunities can be limited.

“The impacts of the rise to 67 will be very uneven. For many unable to keep working, particularly on low incomes and in the most deprived areas, it will mean hardship as they wait longer for a state pension.

“Their shorter life expectancy means that they can then expect to receive it for a shorter time than those in the least deprived areas.

“We know that the last increase – from 65 to 66 – resulted in absolute poverty rates among 65-year-olds more than doubling.”

Committee chairwoman Debbie Abrahams said: “We can’t just allow people who are already struggling as they approach pension age to be forced to choose between continuing work in poor health or prolonging their poverty as they wait for their state pension to kick in.

“This is not the later life that anyone wants or to see their loved ones endure after providing for decades. We should recognise that pre-pensioners have greater needs and greater barriers into employment due to ill-health, age discrimination, lack of opportunity to upskill.

“More than half of people are not in paid work in their mid-60s, and they’re not likely to get it if they’ve been effectively written off. Additional social security payments are essential in reducing the compounding effects of the lottery of life and the state pension age increase.”

Andrea Barry, deputy director for work at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “What is being proposed by the committee is a short-term measure to alleviate the current issue.

“In the longer term, and well before any future state pension rises, we need the Government to take a joined-up approach across pensions, work, benefits, and health, to ensure that the mid-60s is not a period of heightened financial precarity for growing numbers of older people.

“This will require ensuring that ongoing reforms to employment and skills support are designed with the needs of older people in mind, alongside enhanced careers guidance and financial planning advice for older workers, and stronger support for those living with health conditions.”

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “We’re delighted that the select committee has recognised that far too many people approaching their state pension age find themselves in a very difficult financial position.

“Allowing people who are realistically never going to work again to struggle to make ends meet until they hit state pension age is a senseless waste and an issue we’ve been highlighting for many years, so it’s fantastic that the committee is strongly advising the Government to address it and to do so quickly.”

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesperson said: “We welcome the Work and Pensions Select Committee inquiry on the transition to state pension age and will consider their report and recommendations in due course.

“As of February 2026, just 0.02% of the universal credit caseload was aged 65 or 66.

“A range of options for extra support are available for those that have not reached state pension age, such as universal credit and other means-tested and disability-related benefits, while the Pensions Commission is examining how we can ensure secure retirements for tomorrow’s pensioners.”