Increasing retirement age 'set to affect private wealth'

Private wealth may be affected if the retirement age is raised too suddenly, which one legal expert argues is ’the wrong way to go’.

Responding to a suggestion by secretary of state for work and pensions Iain Duncan Smith, Robin Ellison, pensions expert at Pinsent Law firm, said the correct approach would be to consider a floating target for finishing labour.

Management of private wealth could alter if individuals are obliged to work for longer than planned.

The pensions expert suggests the Swedish system - whereby an average number of retirement years is worked out and people end employment according to expected longevity - is the most sensible one to model.

Mr Duncan Smith told the Daily Mail: ’The current plan to raise it to 68 ... we think could be accelerated. It seems silly to wait.’

According to current arrangements, retirement age would be increased by three years before 2038, meaning people would have to work longer before claiming their pension. ADNFCR-2318-ID-19902620-ADNFCR