I have to confess I was quite pleased this week when Aegon pension sage Steven Cameron raised an issue that many have neglected: the fairness of the State Pension.

It was brave and timely thing to do on the eve of one of the biggest increases in the State Pension in its history - an 8.5% rise from this month.

This should, of course, be a cause for celebration.

Thanks to the Triple Lock state pensioners are enjoying some hefty increases.

Given that the UK State Pension is far from the most generous in Europe many will applaud this and rightly so. Helping pensioners, particularly those who rely on the State Pension for all or most of their income, gives an immediate boost to millions and helps them meet basic living costs which have risen considerably.

Sadly, however, as Mr Cameron points out there is a growing price to pay for this relative largesse and, as he suggests, the increasing cost of the Triple Lock could potentially be its downfall.

He fears that the State Pension age may rise to 72 or 74 eventually. It is already on the way up. It will rise from 66 to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2046. There are already calls to bring this forward.

He wants to see a more flexible approach to when the State Pension is paid, perhaps allowing a reduced pension to be taken up to three years early for those who need it to make ends meet or can no longer work. This is an excellent idea and needs to be considered seriously.

The reason is simply fairness. With the State Pension age already close to 67 it’s worth bearing in mind that men, in particular, have life expectancy of little more than 73 in some of the poorest areas of the UK, such as parts of Blackpool and parts of Glasgow, according to ONS.

In Blackpool the ONS says that Healthy Life Expectancy is just 53.5 years. On average men in Blackpool will see relatively poor health from their mid-fifties onward. Expecting them to work until nearly 70 while their counterparts in well off areas live to their 80s or more just isn’t a fair deal. Many will never live to see a pension they have paid into all their working lives.

It’s worth remembering that these ideas of a more flexible state pension are yet to be part of any political party’s agenda but they should and must form part of a wider study of the State Pension and how it should be best targeted.

One good thing would be to level with British pension savers about where the money for the State Pension actually comes from.

As a study by Phoenix Insights revealed this week, many believe there is some magic pot of National Insurance money kept aside to pay state pensions. This should be the case but it is not. The money simply comes from general taxation and that is the Achilles heel of the State Pension. 

As the number of State Pensioners rises and the working population declines the State Pension may well become increasingly unaffordable.

Far better now to listen to Mr Cameron and others about necessary reform before the Treasury faces up to the fact that pushing the State Pension age into the mid-seventies may become the only way to keep paying it and doing so will cheat many out of their pension.

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Kevin O’Donnell is editor of Financial Planning Today and a journalist with 40 years of experience in finance, business and mainstream news. This topical comment on the Financial Planning news appears most weeks, usually on Fridays but occasionally other days.  Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow @FPT_Kevin >Top Tip: Follow Financial Planning Today on Twitter / X @_FPToday for breaking news and key updates