Driving the review on is the pending European anti-age discrimination law, which means a decision has to be made by government on whether employers can set an age limit on their workers.

The Financial Times is reporting that the issue has divided the Cabinet, and the Pensions Commission has now provided that not-so-helpful advice.

The Commission’s chairman Adair Turner says raising the retirement age would have no affect on people’s ability to claim basic state pension because people can already claim that income while still working.