You cannot take the State Pension early: it starts at State Pension age, not before, though private pensions and some benefits can fill the gap.

That is true whether you stop work at 55, 60 or 62, and no petition or proposal changes it today. What you can do is plan the years in between. Pension Wise gives free, impartial guidance on how to take a defined contribution pension, and if you face several years before your State Pension starts, an FCA-authorised adviser could weigh your pots and savings against those years, with the free call-back asked for on this page's form.

Can you get the State Pension early, at 55 or 60?

No. GOV.UK's early retirement guide says: "The earliest you can get your State Pension is when you reach your State Pension age." The next line is just as plain: "You’ll have to wait to claim your State Pension if you retire before you reach that age." That covers anyone who retires before that age, whichever State Pension they will eventually claim.

A one-off payment is possible only after State Pension age, for people who put off claiming, and what form it takes depends on when they reached that age, as the State Pension lump sum page explains.

Ill health alters what private pensions and benefits may offer, covered further down and on the ill health retirement page. It does not move the State Pension start date. For the difference between this age and the day you actually finish work, see State Pension age and retirement age.

When do you reach State Pension age, and could it change?

It depends on your date of birth, and for many readers it is later than the 66 they were once told. The government's 2023 review confirmed the timetable: the rise from 66 to 67 runs between April 2026 and April 2028, and the rise from 67 to 68 between April 2044 and April 2046. By date of birth, GOV.UK's published timetable gives:

  • born 6 April 1960 to 5 March 1961: 66 plus a number of months from 1 to 11, rising with each month of birth;
  • born 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977: 67;
  • born 6 April 1977 to 5 April 1978: a phased date between 6 May 2044 and 6 March 2046, as the step up to 68 begins;
  • born on or after 6 April 1978: your 68th birthday.

The 68 date is current law, not a promise. The Pensions Act 2014 requires regular reviews. The government's 2023 review announcement said that the timetable "will remain unchanged, for the time being", that the next review would reconsider the rise to 68, and that it stayed committed to giving 10 years’ notice of changes. That third review was launched in July 2025 to look at life expectancy and other evidence; until Parliament changes the law, the dates above stand. The page on State Pension age and retirement age follows the reviews in more detail.

Your own date is a single lookup: GOV.UK's State Pension age checker also gives your Pension Credit qualifying age, and warns that the result "may change in the future". Born on the 29th, 30th or 31st of a month? Use the tool rather than counting months by hand.

Can you claim the State Pension and keep working?

Yes, but only from State Pension age; the rule is not about earnings. GOV.UK says "You can claim your new State Pension even if you carry on working." It also says "You will not get your new State Pension automatically - you have to claim it." Leave the claim and the pension simply defers, which is the route that can lead to a larger weekly amount later, discussed on whether to defer the State Pension.

Working while you draw a private pension is a separate question. Tax law does not make you retire first, although a scheme's own rules might. How earnings interact with tax once you are claiming is in how much you can earn on the State Pension, and private pensions alongside a job are covered in taking a pension while you still work.

What can pay the bills between stopping work and State Pension age?

For most people the answer is savings, a workplace pension or a personal pension, and sometimes a mix with part-time pay. Private pensions have their own earliest age, set in tax law. HMRC's manual says: "Since 6 April 2010 the normal minimum pension age is 55. From 6 April 2028, the normal minimum pension age will increase from age 55 to age 57." A particular scheme's rules may set a higher age than that, and schemes for the uniformed services are exempt from the rise. The page on the move to 57 sets out who is caught by it.

Two exceptions are worth checking before you assume that 55 or 57 applies to you:

  • A protected pension age. Some people had a right before 6 April 2006 to start a pension earlier. HMRC explains that a protected age belongs to one registered scheme, so a person could have 50 in one and 52 in another, and that it can be lost by transferring out of the old scheme. After the 2028 change, a protected age below 57 needs a scheme right that was unqualified. See protected pension ages.
  • Ill health. Payments before the minimum age can be authorised if the ill-health condition is met, which includes medical evidence from a registered practitioner that you cannot carry on your current occupation. A scheme's own test may be stricter.

Be wary of anyone offering to unlock money sooner. GOV.UK warns that "Some companies offer to help you get money out of your pension before you’re 55", and that an unauthorised payment can mean paying "up to 55% tax on it". The pension you build also tends to be smaller if you stop early, because it has had less time to grow, so a longer gap to fund can mean drawing on a smaller pot. Holding several pots and unsure which carry a protected age? Matching each pot to its earliest age is work an adviser can take on without charge; the enquiry form here is the way to request it. Whether a specific scheme pays early on your terms is something its administrator can confirm.

For the wider picture of stopping work well before State Pension age, retiring early in the UK and taking a pension at 55 cover the private side in more depth.

Which benefits may apply before State Pension age?

These are the rules as GOV.UK and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) describe them; they change, so confirm at the time of claiming.

  • Universal Credit is for people on a low income or needing help with living costs, whether out of work, working or unable to work. A claimant must be below State Pension age and hold no more than £16,000 in money, savings and investments, among other conditions.
  • New Style Employment and Support Allowance is for people under State Pension age with a disability or health condition that affects how much they can work, who also have enough National Insurance contributions or credits.
  • Personal Independence Payment usually needs you to be under State Pension age to make a new claim. After that age, GOV.UK points to Attendance Allowance instead. Scotland uses Adult Disability Payment in place of PIP.
  • Pension Credit is not available early. DWP says you must have reached State Pension age to qualify, and that its qualifying age is linked to State Pension age.

Taking private pension money can alter income-related help. GOV.UK says the amount you get from Housing Benefit, income-related ESA, Pension Credit and Universal Credit "could be affected if you take your pension early". For a later Pension Credit claim, DWP's detailed guide to Pension Credit for advisers and others warns that if money taken from a pension pot is spent, transferred or given away, "the usual rules on deprivation of capital will apply". Use an independent, free benefits calculator, such as those GOV.UK lists, to see where you stand before you act. If your illness is what is ending your working life, benefits alongside ill health retirement goes through the combinations.

One more link between benefits and the State Pension: the amount you will get depends on the National Insurance record behind it, and credits, which can come with Universal Credit or Carer’s Allowance among others, can fill years when you were not paying contributions. Puzzled by how the gap, your pots and any benefits interact? Put a phone number into the short form here and an adviser will ring to untangle it, at no cost to you.

More on claiming the State Pension before State Pension age

Will retiring at 55 or 60 reduce my State Pension?

Possibly, though not through a penalty for stopping work. GOV.UK says the qualifying years on your National Insurance record affect how much you get, and you need 10 qualifying years for any new State Pension. A year can count if you were working, getting credits as an unemployed, ill or caring person, or paying voluntary contributions. See topping up your State Pension.

Is there an early State Pension if I am too ill to work?

No, the State Pension still starts at State Pension age. Ill health can instead open a private pension before the minimum age and may bring benefits, which GOV.UK says you can check with a benefits calculator. Pension Wise and your scheme administrator can explain the private pension side.

Can I take a lump sum from the State Pension before State Pension age?

No. If you do not claim at State Pension age, GOV.UK says the pension "automatically defers". You can then usually take what built up as a one-off payment or as higher regular payments, but GOV.UK adds that what you get depends on when you reached State Pension age.

Can I get Pension Credit before State Pension age?

No, you must have reached State Pension age to qualify. Before then, Universal Credit may be the relevant benefit if your income and savings are low; see who gets Pension Credit for what changes later.

Could a petition bring back an earlier State Pension age?

Not on its own. The ages come from the Pensions Acts of 2007 and 2014, and GOV.UK's timetable says that "Before any future changes could become law Parliament would need to approve the plans." The GOV.UK checker shows your date under the law as it stands.