The government has frozen plans to accelerate the rise in the state pension age.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride confirmed the move following newspaper reports that suggested the government was erring over the plans.
The age at which the state pension is payable currently stands at 66, and by the end of 2028, it will have risen to 67.
Mr Stride said he agreed the rise in the state pension age from 66 to 67 should occur between 2026 and 2028 as planned, but that parliament “consider the rise to age 68 again”.
Increasing the state pension aged to 68 was scheduled to happen between 2044 and 2046 – but ministers had been contemplating bringing that forward to between 2037 to 2039.
However, Mr Stride confirmed the decision on increasing the state pension to 68 will be delayed until after the next election, with another review taking place “within two years of the next parliament”.
Increasing the state pension age had been on the cards for a while because of the trend of people living longer. However, the coronavirus pandemic changed that, reducing the life expectancy for women by one year and 1.3 years for men – removing a key justification for changing the rules.
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The decision to delay the changes could also have been influenced by France, where violent protests have erupted at President Emmanuel Macron’s proposals to raise the state pension age from 62 to 64.
He told MPs: “Given the level of uncertainty about the data on life expectancy, labour markets and the public finances, and the significance of these decisions on the lives of millions of people, I am mindful a different decision might be appropriate once these factors are clearer.
“I therefore plan for a further review to be undertaken within two years of the next parliament to consider the rise to age 68 again.”
The Cabinet minister defended his approach, saying it “continues to provide certainty for those planning for retirement” while ensuring in the longer term, it is “sustainable and fair across the generations”.
He said the government “remains committed” to the principle of 10-years notice of changes to state pension age.
“The approach I’m setting out today is a responsible and reasonable one,” he said.
“One that continues to provide certainty for those planning for retirement, while ensuring that we take the time to get this right for the longer term, so that the state pension can continue to provide security in retirement and is sustainable and fair across the generations.”
Mr Stride confirmed that the increase in life expectancy has “slowed” since the first state pension age review was carried out in 2017 – a trend he said was being seen “to a varying degree across much of the developed world”.
He cited an independent report by Baroness Neville-Rolfe carried out in 2022, which he said “highlights an important challenge: a growing pensioner age population and the affordability and fiscal sustainability of the state pension”.
“As a society we should celebrate improvements in life expectancy, which has driven rapidly over the past century and is projected to continue to increase,” he said.
Labour’s shadow work and pension secretary Jon Ashworth said the stalling life expectancy rates which drove the delay on the decision about raising the state pension age were a “damning indictment”.
“Today’s announcement that they are not going ahead with accelerating the state pension age is welcome, and it is the right one,” he said.
“But it is the clearest admission yet that a rising tide of poverty is dragging life expectancy down for so many, and stalling life expectancy, going backwards in some of the poorest communities, is a damning indictment of 13 years of failure which the minister should have acknowledged and apologised for today.”
