Prime Minister Scott Morrison is dumping plans to raise the pension age from 67 to 70, which then-treasurer Joe Hockey put in his budget way back in 2014.

"It is one of the things I will be changing pretty quickly," PM Morrison said on Channel Nine in response to a viewer question.  He said he had been considering it for some time.  The pension age has been raised six months every two years - when it reaches 67 in 2023, changes will cease.

Labor had been hammering the coalition on the issue from the moment Mr. Hockey put it out there four years ago, while the coalition had always defended raising the pension age during that time.  Now, Deputy PM Michael McCormack said overturning the previous policy it was a "pragmatic, sensible move".

"I think if you are a tradie, or a brickie or a shearer in rural and regional Australia you don't want some suit in Canberra telling you you are going to have to work until you're 70," McCormack told Sky News.  "It's hard, back-breaking work what a lot of our people do and I think being told that they are going to have to work until 70 I think was probably a step too far."

To Labor MP Stephen Jones, it sounds familiar:  "The Government have been slow to catch on," he tweeted, "We've been campaigning against this since 2014."

The opposition leader says the coalition's change is a sign of desperation.  "Mr Morrison for years has wanted Australians to work to the age of 70.  As recently as July this year he said that was his commitment," said Bill Shorten.  "Now he wants to drop it because he is worried about losing his day job."