Plans to bring forward a rise in the state pension age which were expected to be announced in May have been put on hold, according to newspaper reports.

Only an average of 123,000 people per year have made Class 3 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) which allow them to fill historic gaps in their NI records and receive a higher state pension over the last five years.

The state pension triple lock needs to be review as part of wider focus on older workers, according to John Cridland, author of the government’s Cridland Review of State Pension Age in 2017.

Newspaper reports suggesting that the state pension age could rise to 68 sooner than expected are an example of the Prime Minister “playing with political fire,” according to one pension expert.