State pension age

Employers could have powers to forcibly retire employees at 65, the Supreme Court has ruled, throwing into doubt the abolition of the default retirement age.

Average retirement ages rose by almost one year between 2004 and 2010 according to the latest statistics published by the Office for National Statistics.

Prime Minister David Cameron has warned of a pensions "apartheid" between the public and private sector if reforms are not pushed through for public sector workers.

The pensions industry has cautiously welcomed the Chancellor's autumn statement.

The Pensions Bill has cleared both Houses of Parliament and will become law after a last-ditch Labour attempt to amend it was rejected in the Lords.

The Pensions Bill which raises the state pension age to 66 by 2020 has passed its third reading in the House of Commons with 287 votes to 242.

The government has announced a six month delay in the increase in the state pension age in 2020.