Aligning the upper age for NHS prescription charge exemptions with the State Pension age: government response
Updated 15 June 2023
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Introduction
In 2021 the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) held a public consultation on aligning the upper age for the NHS prescription charge exemption with the State Pension age (SPA), which is currently 66, and due to increase to 67 and 68 in future years. The upper age for NHS prescription exemption was introduced in 1968 to be in line with women’s SPA, which was 60 at that time. In the decades since, there have been increases to the SPA, but the upper age exemption for prescription charges has remained the same, creating a disconnect between the 2.
The government has abolished the default ‘retirement age’ and people can now continue to work after reaching the ages of 60 or 65. The average retirement age is now 64 for women, and 65 for men, and has been increasing steadily over the last 2 decades.
In 2019 to 2020 around 60% of people in the 60 to 65 age group were still economically active and potentially able to meet the cost of their prescriptions. Prescription charge revenue provides a valuable source of income for the NHS, contributing £652 million against a primary care spend of £9.69 billion in 2021 to 2022. This funding helps maintain vital services for patients and is particularly important given the increasing demands on the NHS.
Responses received
The consultation received over 117,000 responses, the majority of which were opposed to a rise in the upper age exemption.
Some of the reasons given for opposing the change included cost of living pressures and the risk to health of people not taking prescribed medication correctly.
This government is committed to tackling cost of living pressures and has decided that the prescription charge upper age exemption will remain at 60, meaning that it will not align to the State Pension age.
It should be noted that in England a broad range of NHS prescription charge exemptions are in place to help those with the greatest need. These measures include a variety of charge exemptions and eligibility depends upon:
- whether people are in receipt of certain qualifying benefits or tax credits
- their age
- if they get a war pension
- if they have a qualifying medical condition
The current exemptions mean that around 89% of NHS prescription items dispensed in the community in England are free of charge. In addition, people on a low income who do not qualify for an automatic exemption can seek help under the NHS Low Income Scheme.
For those who do not qualify for an exemption or the NHS Low Income Scheme, prepayment certificates (PPC) are available to help those who need frequent prescriptions. The annual PPC can be paid for through 10 instalments. This means they can have as many prescription items as they need for just over £2 per week.