Plans to increase the state pension age to 68 between 2037 and 2039 have been frozen, work and pensions secretary Mel Stride confirmed on Thursday.
Currently, the minimum age required for a state pension to become payable is 66 and plans remain in place to increase the age to 67 by 2028.
The increase to 68 years old was initially set for between 2044 and 2046, but government ministers had been considering bringing it forward.
A decision on when the age will be upped to 68 will be decided after the next general election and by 2026 at the latest.
Rising life expectancy, as well as an increasing amount of people retiring early, were reasons cited for fast-tracking the increase.
However, Covid caused a drop in life expectancy by around a year for both men and women – a key driving force for the government's change of heart.
Mel Stride stated: “Given the level of uncertainty about the data on life expectancy, labour markets and the public finances, I am mindful a different decision might be appropriate once these factors are clearer.”
The decision may have also been influenced by the recent protests in France, with demonstrators clashing with police in Paris in response to plans to increase the minimum retirement age to 64.
State pensions are becoming increasingly expensive for the government due to an ageing population, said Helen Morrisey at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Increasing state pension age was one lever the government could deploy but it looks like it’s becoming much more difficult to do so,” Morrisey added, stating that now “the time has come for a review of the state pension, particularly the role of the triple lock.”