Here are a variety of views regarding the Autumn Statement 2013, which was announced by Chancellor George Osborne.

Director of the Pensions Institute at Cass Business School Professor David Blake said: "This is an inevitable consequence of the increase in life expectancy which is still continuing with no apparent sign of slowing down."

He added: "Young people starting work today will not get the state pension until they are in their early 70s. But because healthy life expectancy is also increasing, being in your early 70s in 50 years' time will be like being in your early 60s today. This should not be regarded as a big deal."

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) head of policy Helen Forrest said that the body recognised the need to increase the state pension age.

She said that the NAPF supports the proposal in the Pensions Bill 2013 to review the state pension age every six years or less to take account of the latest demographic data available, but said that the Government needs to define the "terms, expectations and powers" of this review.

Forrest added: "The NAPF will assess any additional burdens these changes may place on schemes, and scheme members, and will call on the Government to take account of these concerns."

Aon Hewitt senior partner Kevin Wesbroom said: "Plans to bring forward the increase in the state pension age should be a wake-up call for employers. More than ever this indicates the importance of securing better member outcomes."

Wesbroom said that employers need a strategy to deal with the potentially "powerful toxic combination" of the default retirement age, the inexorable rise in longevity and an increasingly under-pensioned workforce.

Aon Hewitt head of pension benefit design James Patten added: "Following the Chancellor's statements on how state pension age should be increased in future; it will be interesting to see whether employers with defined benefit (DB) schemes would look to link their normal pension age to state pension age if offered the opportunity under the defined ambition proposals."

AXA Wealth director Paul Riddell said: "Nobody will be surprised to hear about the changes announced in the Autumn Statement. We are all expecting to work later and later in life. What isn't clear is how the government and pensions and savings industry is going to work closer to encourage more people to save appropriately for the future."

He added: "We need a radical overhaul in the way we support and communicate the importance of saving for the long term by focusing on transparency, value for money and most of all plain English."

Duncan Lawrie Private Bank pension expert Chris Masley said: "The Government wants to help ensure a fair deal for everyone, but a generation of young workers will no doubt be asking themselves how this is a fair deal for them.

"They will have to work longer and harder for a state pension that is still falling in real terms. Many will have already given up hope of not having enough money for retirement."

He added: "We should be encouraging young people to start thinking about their retirement plans early, but instead, as the age of state retirement drifts further away, people are increasingly choosing to not review their pension strategy until much later in life."

Buck Consultants head of pensions policy Kevin LeGrand said that the increase in the state pension age is a "positive move".

However he said: "George Osborne's failure to reduce workplace pension tax reliefs may offer temporary respite but we can only hope that the Treasury has finally got the message that the country cannot afford for pension savings to be treated like cash cows."

Partnership head of product development Mark Stopard said of the Autumn Statement: "While some people will be able to work for longer, this also means that people who do have lifestyle or medical conditions may not physically be able to continue in employment until they receive their state pension. This suggests that going forward private provision will continue to grow in importance as people work to build retirement finances which are tailored to their own individual needs."

CDC Wealth Management director Andrew Mann said: "The state pension age change will grab the headlines but it merely confirms that this is unsustainable and, moving forward, will play less and less of a prominent role in planning for retirement. We are entering the age of responsibility in pensions. It's either that or poverty."

DeVere Group founder and CEO Nigel Green said: "The Autumn Statement is the ultimate reality check for today's working population who are putting off saving for their retirements. The message should ring loud and clear: you will have to wait longer to receive a state pension, and the amount that you receive is unlikely to be enough to fund the retirement to which you aspire."

TISA director general Tony Vine-Lott welcomed the increase in the state pension age as a "pragmatic step".

However he said: "To give people certainty when planning plan how they will fund their retirement and to prevent those with modest earnings saving to no effect it is essential that the rise in pension age is accompanied by the planned introduction of a flat-rate basic state pension. The announcement that voluntary National Contributions will be introduced to allow pensioners to boost their income is welcome."

The NAPF also welcomed the news regarding the National Contributions as it provides an opportunity for people to ensure that they will be eligible to receive the full single-tier state pension.

Concerning exchange traded funds (ETFs) Forrest said: "The announcement today that stamp duty on shares purchased in ETFs will be abolished from April 2014 will be welcomed by UK pension schemes, as it increases the investment opportunities for some schemes.

"ETFs track an index (eg S&P 500), commodity or a basket of assets. Interest in these funds may increase post the abolition of stamp duty, particularly amongst smaller pension schemes looking to diversify portfolio risk."

First published 05.12.2013

monique_simpson@wilmington.co.uk