Citizens Advance

Helping people move their lives forward

If you can access the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’, it can change everything. In 2024, the Bank of Mum and Dad passed £9.6 billion down to help their children on the first step on the ladder – with £55,572 the average sum gifted. Not everyone is so fortunate and the gap is widening.

Government must find a way to help young people who have done everything right, but can’t rely on wealthy parents to pass them tens of thousands of pounds. The Citizens Advance would give anyone who has been working for 10 years the choice to unlock one year of their state pension early, as a cash sum. From April 6 2026, that’s £12,547.60.

This amount of money that could be transformative for people who need a deposit to buy a home, are starting a family, or want to change careers. And the choice to take it would be yours alone.

What is Citizens Advance?

It’s a new policy idea that is still at an early stage, devised by Andrew Lewin, Labour MP for Welwyn Hatfield, and being developed independently by the Social Market Foundation.

The proposal: If you have made at least 10 years of National Insurance contributions, the state will give you the choice to access one year of your state pension a year early.

This is not free money. Your choice would be to delay your state retirement age for a year and in exchange, receive the lump sum.

For most people reading this, that would mean putting the age at which you can claim your state pension back from 68 to 69.

Will there be restrictions on what I can spend the money on?

No, that isn’t the proposal as it stands. We trust people who have worked for 10 years (so will be at least 28 years old) to make an informed choice about this. More work on this is happening now.

What if I take the money, but then want to pay at back?

We’re modelling this as an option. Perhaps you take the money aged 32, start paying at back aged 40 in monthly instalments (like a student loan) and if you pay it all back, you can access your state pension at age 68 again. More on this to come.

How much will this cost the Government?

We’re working on this. We want the Citizens Advance to be a policy that is net neutral for the Treasury over the long-term, but it would involve money being brought forward, so this all has to be modelled carefully. That work is underway.

What are the benefits?

Acts as a stimulus by putting money in people’s pockets

Provides equal opportunity to those who can’t rely on family wealth

Help with house deposits, career changes, or education

Core Principles

1. It's not a handout: it's earned through contribution (10 years of NI payments)

2. It's voluntary: there is no obligation to delay your retirement if you don't want to

3. It's universal: It's available to all who meet the criteria

Andrew Lewin MP and the Social Market Foundation are working to take the Citizens Advance from concept to detailed policy.