Conservative plans to raise the pension age earlier than planned will be outlined in a speech by shadow chancellor George Osborne later today.

If elected, the Tories will raise the pension age for men to 66 as early as 2016 in a bid to cut Britain’s budget deficit, instead of 2026 as planned. They have not ruled out raising the pension age for women to 66, but say that doing so by 2016 is “out of the question”.

But Labour ministers have branded the proposals “deeply unfair” on women.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Tory leader David Cameron said that the party would conduct a review first before taking a decision on the pension age.

Cameron said that Lord Turner, who conducted the original review behind Labour’s decision to raise the pension age for men between 2024-26, recognised that his initial recommendations should have been “more ambitious” because of increased life expectancy.

Cameron said he wanted the review to examine “how best to provide a proper glide path to synchronising the two pension ages”, adding that the Tory proposals were “realistic and reasonable”.

He said he hoped that “all parties will come behind us and say that this is an important thing to do”.

Shadow women’s minister Theresa May added that the pension age for women would not make a “sudden” three year jump but would rise gradually, meaning that women could be “comfortable” with the proposals.

In his speech today, George Osborne will tell the Conservative conference that the increase in the pension age is necessary o restore the basic state pension link with earnings, as opposed to prices.

“All parties accept that to afford that, with an ageing population, the state pension will have to rise,” he will say.

Labour announced its own plans for spending cuts last night by proposing that 750,000 public sector workers, including doctors, prison officers, dentists and civil servants, have their pay frozen next year, or receive a pay rise of between just 0 and 1%.

“If we want to halve the deficit over four years and protect frontline services, we have to make tough but realistic decisions on pay,” said that Treasury chief secretary Liam Byrne. “That means leadership from senior groups and realistic increases for other workforces.”

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