PLANS to bring forward a rise in the state pension age by seven years have been branded a "fundamental injustice" to Scotland with new Labour leader Andy Burnham urged to "come clean" on the changes.
Millions of people will face an extra year in work under the plans to hike the state pension age to 68, seven years earlier than originally set out.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) indicates that the "current policy" is to move the rise forward from 2044 to 2037.
In its latest report on the nation’s spending, the OBR states that the Treasury has confirmed the decision despite the planned rise not being in legislation.
Under the Pensions Act 2007, the notional policy remains for the age to rise to 68 from 2044 to 2046, and this remains the official guidance for current workers.
SNP MP Lara Bird has said it presents a "fundamental injustice" for Scotland where both men and women have a lower average life expectancy.
Meanwhile, Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said Burnham must provide clarity on when the age will change so people can plan their futures with certainty.
Burnham officially became Labour leader on Friday and has pledged to be a leader for every nation and region of the UK.
Bird said: "These revelations mark a truly terrible start for Burnham and he hasn’t even begun. It is a case of Westminster déjà vu, a Labour Party plot to save the UK Treasury £6 billion by punishing pensioners.
"Westminster is lining up to pick the pockets of people who are already working hard for their pension – this Labour Party plan will force people to work even harder and even longer to enjoy the basic dignity of retirement.
“Another fundamental injustice of these plans is that they clearly ignore and disregard the demographic differences on these islands. For instance, here in Scotland, both men and women have a lower average life expectancy at the current State Pension age of 66.
"On average 66-year-old men are expected to live around one year less, and 66-year-old women expected to live almost one and a half years less in Scotland, when compared with their counterparts in England."
The change means that around five million people who are currently aged between 49 and 55 would have to work for an extra year before being eligible for their state pension. At its currently yearly rate, this would cost them £12,500.
Chapman told The National: “The Waspi [Women Against State Pension Inequality] scandal should have taught every government that pension changes are not merely numbers on a spreadsheet.
“A lack of clarity can upend people’s lives, force them to work through ill health and push them into financial hardship.
“Bringing this rise forward would be cruel and regressive. After a lifetime of work and National Insurance contributions, people deserve dignity, security and certainty in retirement, not to have the goalposts moved so the Treasury can save billions at their expense.
"Labour and the incoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, must come clean now. Millions of people cannot plan their futures around official guidance that the government apparently intends to abandon."
Economist Paul Johnson, the former head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said earlier this week that if it is the government's intention to hike the age sooner than laid out "they need to say so publicly and get on with legislation — and fast".
HM Treasury said that the change was committed to by a previous government but never brought into force.
A spokesperson said: “The law remains to increase to the Stage Pension to 68 in 2044. In July 2025 we announced the launch of the third review of the state pension age, which is required by legislation.”
A new review of the state pension was launched by Labour last year under the legal requirement that one must be carried out every six years.
The recommendation for the state pension age to rise to 68 from 2037 dates back to the first such review, released in 2017, which was triggered by Theresa May.
Any change to the state pension age must come with at least 10 years’ notice, meaning a planned rise to 2037 must start to be legislated on by next year at the latest.
