Crime & Safety
State Pension Age change this month delaying payment to 67
From April 6, the state pension age will begin rising again to 67, affecting people in their mid-60s who now face waiting longer before receiving payments.
The warning comes from Centre for Ageing Better, which says the shift could push thousands into financial difficulty almost immediately.
“People will be left waiting for a lifeline”
The charity estimates around 100,000 people could be pushed into poverty as a result of the change.
Elaine Smith, Head of Employment and Skills at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “While raising the state pension age has considerable financial benefits for the Treasury, it also has negative real-life consequences for people in their 60s.”
She added: “The last time the state pension age increased, poverty for 65-year-olds doubled. This rise is likely to have even bigger effects.”
According to the charity, many people in their early-to-mid 60s already rely on the state pension as a “financial lifeline” and delaying access could leave them struggling to cover basic costs.
Why this change could hit harder than before
The increase is part of long-term government plans to reflect longer life expectancy.
But experts say the reality has shifted.
Smith said: “Life expectancy is now lower than before the pandemic, and healthy life expectancy has fallen to its lowest level in years.”
She added that many people simply cannot keep working into their late 60s due to:
- Ill health
- Caring responsibilities
- Age discrimination
- Job availability
“Working up to state pension age is not the norm,” she said. “By age 66, fewer than one in three people are still in work.”
Calls for urgent financial support
The Centre for Ageing Better is urging the government to step in with targeted help for those affected.
Smith said: “People are being asked to work for longer before they can access their state pension, but without any additional help from government to make that possible.”
Proposals include:
- Early access to Pension Credit
- Extra support through Universal Credit
- More funding to help over-50s stay in work
The charity argues that even a small portion of the estimated £10 billion savings from raising the pension age could make a significant difference.
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Inequality concerns growing
Experts warn the change will not affect everyone equally.
Those most at risk include:
- Single people
- Renters
- Lower-income households
- People with health conditions
Smith said: “State pension age increases deepen inequality. Those already out of work are the least likely to benefit and the most likely to struggle.”
A reported incident at a junction in Witney is causing traffic chaos in the town, with drivers coming off the A40 and elsewhere stuck in long queues.
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An incident occurred in St Aldate’s, outside the entrance to Christ Church Meadows, at about 4pm on Tuesday, June 2.
At least three ambulances were responding to what appeared to be a medical emergency on the pavement.
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An individual was scene on a stretcher being cared for by paramedics.
An eyewitness said the incident occurred opposite the Alice Shop, and the medical teams ‘evacuated’ the person.
Apart from the pavement briefly being blocked while the first responders dealt with the emergency, it did not appear to affect traffic or block the road in busy St Aldate’s.
South Central Ambulance Service has been contacted for comment.
Daniel Kaveh, 24, Justin Hughes, 25 and Kailan Chadbone, 20, were each sentenced to years in jail at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, May 29 for supplying and dealing drugs on the streets of Oxford.
Kaveh, of Lambourn Road in Oxford, and Hughes, of Woodperry Road, played ‘significant’ roles in an ‘open line’ class A drugs operation in Blackbird Leys between November 2024 and last November, the court heard.
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Kaveh was previously in court in 2021 after pulling out a ‘Rambo’ knife in a stabbing incident in Lambourn Road in Rose Hill in November 2020 which resulted in a 12 month jail sentence suspended for two years.
Between them, they supplied around 4.6kg of crack cocaine and heroin to the drugs line.
Police raids on Hughes’ home also found 232g powder cocaine and 2.338kg of cannabis, for which he was sentenced for possession with intent to supply, along with a quantity of cash, drugs paraphernalia and weapons.
Raids on Kaveh’s property found similar equipment and drugs like heroin and diamorphine, with a total street value of more than £100,000.
It was established the two dealers worked for Emman Riasat, who ran his own drug line in Oxford and wholesale supplied drugs to the line operating out of Blackbird Leys.
Hughes received a jail sentence of six years and nine months for two counts of class A drug supply and two counts of possession, while Kaveh was jailed for seven years and six months for two counts of class A drug supply.
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Also working for Riasat was Chadbone, of Bernwood Road, who worked lower down in the operation as a drugs runner.
He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and diamorphine between August 1 and November 19, 2025, committed while he was serving a suspended sentence for affray.
Chadbone received a total of 45 months in jail for two counts of drug supply and the breach of a previous suspended sentence.
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