The legal retirement age could rise to 68 earlier than expected, according to a report

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Ministers want to raise pension age to 68 several years earlier than planned in 'big bazooka' to raise billions for Treasury , it has been reported.

Under current legislation, the retirement age is expected to rise to 67 within four to six years, and then to 68 by 2046, although the government's announced plan calls for the latter to take place by 2039.

But it is claimed that relevant ministers and officials from each of the three Tory governments this year led by Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and now Rishi Sunak have been inclined to move that date further forward.

A The mid-2030s date is now widely favoured, with ministers keen to leave a gap of at least a decade between the policy legislation and its coming into action, reported the Daily Telegraph, citing several current and former sources. civil servants.

Even raising the retirement age a year earlier than currently planned could add more than £9billion to the Treasury, with some £8billion saved in pension payments and a further £1.3billion levied in additional income tax, pensions consultancy LCP told the newspaper.

It has also been claimed that Ms Truss believed the move was a "quick fix" and originally intended to include it in the disastrous mini-budget of her and then Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng - who has since raised alarm bells in government about the need to reassure investors of the UK's fiscal responsibility.

While the Conservative Party has grappled with the issue over the past decade, there are reports that Whitehall believes that automatically tying the age changes e retirement to life expectancy could help depoliticize the issue.

< p>"The government is required by law to regularly review the state retirement age and the second revision of the state retirement age is currently being considered, based on a wide range of evidence, including the latest life expectancy data and two independent reports, whether rules around st retirement remains appropriate,” a Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said.

“The review will be published in early 2023,” they said, highlighting in response to the Telegraph report that "no decision...