The Totnes Constituency Labour Party have blasted the Government for introducing pension changes “by the back door”.

On Thursday, the Conservative Government announced that it was changing the timetable for pensions, raising the pension age to 68.

New analysis by the House of Commons Library has revealed that 7.6 million people will lose out, by nearly £10,000 each, under these plans.

The government’s review proposes “a new timetable for the rise to 68, in line with continuing increases in life expectancy”.

The Department for Work and Pensions released a statement saying: “The State Pension age is regularly reviewed to make sure that the State Pension is affordable and fair. People are living longer, and spending a larger proportion of their adult life in retirement than in the past.

“When the State Pension was introduced in 1948, a 65-year-old could expect to spend 13.5 years in receipt of it – around 23 per cent of their adult life. This has been increasing ever since. In 2017, a 65-year-old can now expect to live for another 22.8 years, or 33.6 per cent of their adult life.

“Latest projections from the Office for National Statistics show that the number of people over State Pension age in the UK is expected to grow by a third between 2017 and 2042, from 12.4 million in 2017 to 16.9 million in 2042.”

But Peter McIlven, chair of Totnes Labour Party said: “The Government’s sudden and unexpected announcement that they will raise the state pension qualifying age to 68 from 2037 will affect an estimated 7,700 working people and their families in Totnes, Dartmouth, Brixham and the surrounding areas.

“Every person born between 1970 and 1978 will lose nearly £10,000 as a result of this decision. 

“It’s typical of Theresa May and her Conservatives that they introduce a change like this by the back door, right at the end of a Parliamentary session and without a debate in the House of Commons.

“The Tories always find money for tax cuts for corporations and their rich friends, and now have found money for a bung to the DUP. But it’s ordinary people who pay the price in the end.”

The change will affect all men and women currently between the age of 39 and 47, who will be forced to work a year longer before they can access their state pension entitlement.

The announcement was heavily criticised, as it followed evidence from the renowned expert on life expectancy, Professor Sir Michael Marmot, who just days before had described how a century-long rise in life expectancy was “pretty close to having ground to a halt”.

Professor Marmot pointed to 2010 as the turning point, when the Government began its austerity programme.

Just over a week ago, the Government’s own advisory body, Public Health England, had published data showing significant disparities in Healthy Life Expectancy. For example, it showed how on average a man living in Nottingham would be only be expected to live in good health until the age of 57, a full eleven years earlier than the Government’s newly timetabled state pension age increase to 68.

A Director of Public Health England described how the average pensioner will now have to deal with a "toxic cocktail" of ill health throughout their whole retirement, and for some years before.

How will will affect you? If you were born on or before April 5, 1970, there will be no change to your pension age. If you were born between April 6, 1970, and April 5, 1978, your State Pension age is currently 67. It would increase to between 67 years and 1 month, and 68 years, depending on your date of birth.

If you were born after April 6, 1978, there will be no change, your State Pension Age remains at 68. These proposed changes would have to be approved by Parliament before they are agreed.But the Conservative Totnes MP, Sarah Wollaston said: “Life expectancy has risen dramatically and that has been amongst the greatest achievements of our age. In 2013–2015 the rate of increase in life expectancy was slower than in previous years but life expectancy at birth in the UK reached 79.1 years for men and 82.8 years for women. "With this success however, there comes the challenge that pensions have to be paid for longer and the state pension age is now regularly reviewed based on independent projections of future life expectancy. When the state pension was introduced in 1948, a 65-year-old could expect to receive it for 13.5 years, around 23 per cent of their adult life. This has been increasing ever since and in 2017, a 65-year-old can now expect to live a further 22.8 years, 33.6 per cent of their adult life. Changes to life expectancy also led to increases in the State Pensions age under the Labour government and for the same reason."Only those born between April 1970 and 1978 will be affected by the proposed changes which will phase in a delay to their pension age to 68. They will on average continue to receive their pension for longer than anyone reaching state pension age in the last 25 years because of the increase in life expectancy."No one should be under any illusion about Labour's empty words on pensions. Just as students were made a promise by Jeremy Corbyn during the election campaign that he would "deal with" historic student loan debt, only to find that he has abandoned that promise, there would be no reversal of pension changes based on independent advice.”