Ministers have delayed plans to raise the state pension age to 68 amid falling life expectancy in the UK and warnings from Tory MPs that the move could provoke a backlash from middle-aged voters.

The state pension age, currently 66, is due to increase to 68 after 2044. The government wanted to bring this forward to 2037-2039, with the plan due to be confirmed in May, but will now push the decision beyond next year’s election, according to officials.

Raising the state pension age is highly controversial — the issue has caused riots on the streets of France — and Tory MPs have urged the delay, arguing that ordinary voters would resent having to work longer at a time when chancellor Jeremy Hunt has just relaxed tax rules on pensions for the wealthy.