The government should increase universal credit (UC) for people in the year before state pension age (SPA) to prevent the rise to 67 from driving more older people into poverty, the Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) has said.

In its Transition to State Pension Age report, the committee called on the government to consult on an uplift in UC, with the aim of introducing additional support by the end of 2026.

The SPA began rising from 66 in April 2026 and is scheduled to reach 67 in April 2028.

However, the committee warned that the impact would be felt unevenly, particularly by people in poorer areas and those who are unable to continue working because of ill-health, disability or caring responsibilities.

Indeed, more than half (57 per cent) of people were no longer in paid employment in the year before SPA, while only 42.1 per cent of 65-year-olds and 29.3 per cent of 66-year-olds were in work in 2025.

The committee noted that wealthier people were more likely to leave work because they could afford to retire, while lower-income workers were more likely to leave due to health problems or caregiving responsibilities.

It warned that those unable to work could face a further year relying on working-age benefits, using savings intended for retirement or drawing private pensions early.

Therefore, the committee backed an increase in UC for all recipients during the year before SPA as a short-term measure, arguing that this would have a greater effect on reducing poverty and could be implemented quickly.

Research considered by the committee estimated that increasing support for all UC claimants within a year of SPA would cost around £600m annually.

This compares with estimated government savings of £10.5bn a year once the increase to 67 is complete, after accounting for the expected rise in incapacity benefit claims.

The committee acknowledged concerns that greater support could weaken incentives to work but said these were outweighed by the need to prevent “poverty and hardship” arising as a foreseeable consequence of government policy.

It stated: “The overriding priority must be to reduce the hardship that would otherwise be a predictable result of government policy.”

The report recommended that the government explain how UC conditionality should apply during the year before SPA and publish its own assessment of the costs and expected impact of an uplift.

In the longer term, the committee said the Secretary of State’s SPA review should consider increasing UC payments for up to three years for people unable to work due to ill-health, disability, or caring responsibilities.

It also suggested examining phased increases in the UC standard allowance from age 60, so that it reaches the pension credit guarantee level at SPA.

The committee highlighted evidence from the previous SPA increase, from 65 to 66, which took place between late 2018 and 2020.

This led to absolute income poverty among 65-year-olds rising to 24 per cent, compared with an estimated 10 per cent had the SPA remained at 65, equivalent to nearly 100,000 additional people in poverty.

It expressed concern that the effect of the current increase could be greater because those affected would be a year older and could face greater barriers to remaining in work.

Meanwhile, health inequalities were also identified as a central concern.

Around 31 per cent of people aged 60 to 64 reported a work-limiting health condition in 2024, up from 28 per cent in 2014, while almost half of people aged 60 to 66 in the lowest-income quintile were classed as frail.

Healthy life expectancy at birth fell by two years over the decade to 2022-24, with significant geographical differences.

The committee criticised the government for relying on impact assessments conducted in 2011 and 2013, which it described as “outdated and insufficient”.

It stressed that these assessments did not account for the increase in work-limiting ill-health or the widening inequalities in healthy life expectancy, while the government did not plan to evaluate the rise to 67 until it was completed in 2028.

“This means there is a significant gap in the government’s understanding of the impact and that an opportunity to consider what action should be taken has been missed,” the report stated, describing the approach as “poor policymaking”.

Commenting on the report, WPC chair, 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.

“The harm has already been done for some planning retirement if policymakers are using out-dated impact assessments in making the changes they are.

"As a result, we know there will be an impact, but we don’t know how big it will be. But it’s not too late; if the government takes action quickly those who face poverty because they deplete their savings before reaching pension age can be helped.”

---