State pension age must rise to 70, says PM's adviser

Workers will have to stay in employment until they are 70 as happened 100 years ago, the Government's pensions guru predicted today.

Lord Turner, who compiled a landmark report for Gordon Brown, believes the state pension age will have to rise further if its value is to be maintained. The Government is already proposing that millions should have to work to 68 by 2046 to get a full state pension.

But Lord Turner told The Times: "This is not the end of the story. If the value of the pension is to be protected the retirement age will have to rise again. I would be amazed if around 2055, the government were not taking the retirement age higher and we'll be at 70 by the end of the century."

The first state pension was introduced by David Lloyd George in 1908 and was then paid only to those aged 70 or over. Life expectancy has since improved dramatically.

Lord Turner believes that there does not appear to be a limit on life expectancy, however this view is disputed by some medical experts.

Under Labour's reforms, workers will automatically be enrolled in their company pension schemes but would be able to opt out.

The move aims to tackle the pensions timebomb facing Britain with millions of workers not currently saving enough to meet their expectations in retirement. The link between earnings and the state pension will be restored.