Raising the retirement age will 'put people in limbo'

Raising the state pension age to 70 will cause hardship for many pensioners, particularly the less well-off, according to comments by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The warning comes after the Institute of Directors suggested the increase, with TUC general secretary Brendan Barber saying the move would leave many older people in limbo - too old to work but too young to receive a state pension.

He said: "A big rise in the state pension age would mean the less well-off lose a much bigger proportion of their pension than longer-living affluent pensioners, who are much less dependent on the state pension in any case."

Figures from The Key Retirement Solutions Equity Release Market Monitor revealed that over 60s are increasingly looking for ways to get credit in order to pay down debts.

The research shows that 36 per cent of those opting for equity release in the last quarter were doing so to pay debts - up from 29 per cent in the previous quarter.