A think tank in the nation has claimed that the state pension age is required to be raised to 72 within a period of 20 years in a view to keep up with the pace at which life expectancy increases.

In 1981, people were normally given the state pension for 25% of their life, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) said. However, by 2000, with the rise in life expectancy, the total percentage of people's lives during which they can avail the benefit had marked a 30% rise.

Besides, for this year, the rise has climbed more, touching 33%.

The group outlined that the state pension age needs to be revised if the Government seeks to maintain the amount of time period for which people could claim the benefit posed under the state pension at a constant level similar to those in 1981.

Even if people were to be under the scheme for over 30% of their life, the state pension age would still pose a requirement of revising it to 68 within a time period of 20 years, the group underlined.

However, on the other side, the group, which was working in consultation with Department for Work and Pensions on the issue, posted that people would require some time to adapt to these changes so that they can start planning on their saving.