HOVE MP Peter Kyle has criticised government plans to make people wait until they are 68 before they can claim the state pension.

It was announced last week that millions of workers will have to work an extra year before retiring.

The state pension age had been due to rise by a year – from the current age of 67 – in 2044.

But David Gauke, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said the cash-saving move would be implemented from 2037, seven years earlier than planned.

Pensions experts said more than six million people would be affected by the change, which will leave anyone aged 47 or younger having to work for an extra 12 months before they can claim their state pension.

Debbie Abrahams, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, called the announcement “an astonishing continuation of austerity.”

Now Hove MP Peter Kyle has joined the debate.

He said: “Some 14,900 people in Hove have just discovered that they will be forced to work for a full year longer before they are able to claim their state pension entitlement.

“This is another bitter blow to people who are working hard whilst household incomes are falling.

“The Tories’ plans will also hit people financially.

“Analysis shows that over a million people in the South East will lose out by £10,000 each under the new rules.

“And, perhaps even more worryingly, evidence also shows that people are now having to work for many years longer than they can expect to be in good health.

“This is yet another attack on ordinary working people who quite simply deserve better.

“People cannot be expected to keep working for longer and longer, with no certainty as to when they will be able to claim their state pension.

“Labour believes in a measured and fair approach, and we would keep the state pension age at 66 while we develop a flexible retirement policy to reflect both the contributions made by people, the wide variations in life expectancy, and the arduous conditions of some work.”