Mixed feelings about WASPI victory

[Fauxflowersnoflowers]

Early 40s here, so this doesn't as such directly affect me, but I've been intrigued by the story about the WASPI campaign and done a bit of reading around it and I'm still confused.

The changes apparently were in the public sphere since as early as 1995 and could have been known about. Many women were aware and did take financial steps to address the changes. The current case seems to centre around whether they should have been personally informed, not was the change fair.

WASPI just said on Women's Hour that they don't object to the equalisation of the pension age, but then callers were objecting to having to work longer and not getting a good retirement, so the two arguments seem to contradiction each other

Also, it seems misunderstood that a compensation payment would be a full reinbursement of the "lost" pension, from my reading it's more likely to be a fixed amount to recognise the fact they should have received a letter. Although again, it appears many did, just not everyone, so who gets the compensation? All of them or just some?

I suppose the other question is how do we pay this? Public services are already stretched badly, childcare costs are crippling and there is a bit of a worry for me that the funds to pay this are going to come out of other areas that will just make the loves of younger women harder and push their pension ages even further back, maybe into their 70s.

Feel really conflicted about it. On one hand kudos to the women for getting this far, but in the other it feels like a really clear example of the importance of properly understanding your own finances and educating yourself about your pension planning.

I don't think you're directing this at the right person? I definitely didn't write an ageist post!

I read the news and am under 50… I just don’t get it from newspapers as I expect they don’t!

I’m under 50 and read them too! But not my only source as sadly I feel I can’t trust a lot of the main stream media these days. I’m a big fan of Byline times

23 in 2011 😂 not 13

@Sunshinesamba21 people make plans for retirement. Their adult children have children because gran can provide free childcare.

They already are. Only a third of over 65s intend vote Conservative in the next election. I personally have never voted for them in the 52 years I’ve had a vote.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1379439/uk-election-polls-by-age/

I think that argument just perpetuates the idea that older women should provide care for kids and elderly relatives, rather than older men.

I can't understand why the age was ever 60 for women (surely it wasn't really because men tend to marry women younger than them!). 60 is very young to retire unless you have a physical job.

Looks like most of them that are no longer voting Tory are switching to Reform UK though. So that's even further to the right.

Well lets wait and see

The last election, more people didn’t vote Conservative than did. It’s just our crap polling system.

Also, not all ‘older’ people vote Conservative. NI, Scotland and Wales didn’t. Neither did the big northern cities with Labour mayors.

Voting Conservative is more of a SE or rural thing. I’m 60, never voted Conservative and neither has anyone l know.

I'm also assuming no state pension as well. I started paying NI in 1991.

Most over 60s still voted conservative though. I didn't say they all did

The welfare state in this country has been decimated and that has certainly not happened because of the younger generations.

The debate here is about compensation payments to acknowledge the issues caused by (some) people not being adequately informed about changes to their state pension. The fact that (some) taxpayers don't want to fund that has nothing to do with the welfare state. If anything, people who oppose the compensation payments are massive in favour of the welfare system - ie. If there is spare money kicking around then we should spend it on things that benefit society at large - NHS, transport, schools, social care, etc - and not spend it in a way that benefits a very small number of individuals.

I don’t think 33% constitutes most - it certainly didn’t when I was last at school.

@Motheroffourdragons Things have changed so quickly. In the late 1990s I worked for an old fashioned senior boss where we had no computers. Instead I wrote letters and a secretary typed them up.

It is rich people who are most likely to vote Conservative. Especially older rich people. People who vote for what benefits them.

Hasn't happened yet has it? Come back when (if) it does.

@Moonfishstar Actually I am WELL aware of that fact thank you very much I was actually replying to the poster was was saying she would have to work for 50 years full time not about the amount paid, however some can and do get double the amount of state pension by earning more and paying more in, before the rules changed in 2016 there was the second state earnings related pension commonly known as SERPS, for those under the old system the basic is £156.20 but the maximum additional pension under SERPS is an additional £204.68 taking some older pensioners income up to £306,88 per week over double the old basic and £157.03 over the new full flat rate for those reaching pension age after 6th April 2016, however you had to be be earning a very good salary and no contacting out of SERPS to get the maximum, its different under the new system as its flat rate and the SSPs have been absorbed into the new amount which is why it is higher but even then there is a protected element for those who would have have go more than that if the rules had not changed, I get £50 a week over the new flat rate due to this .

So, I am almost Waspi, but not, I am 58. I do not support large compensation payments, sorry ladies. I was aware in 1995 and 2011 of the changes. I have daughters of 21 and 26, I don't think they should subsidise you or I. Most women our age are fit and healthy, we are well capable of working until our mid 60's, just like men. We live longer, and get more total pensions than men, on the whole. You have not "lost" anything, you didn't have your own pot, regardless of how long you worked. Indeed most people never pay enough to cover their health and pension payouts.

The ombudsmen have pointed out that most of those involved, have NOT indeed incurred losses, as they just continued working, so it is merely a case of compensating for a potential lack of communication, or incorrect communication.

I dont care if you think im dramatic. I do think there is a lot of ageism on MN. You will get old and it will creep up on you before you know it.

This is what happened in 2019

The biggest change was among 35-54 year olds, who saw a three point rise in the Conservatives’ vote share and 11 point fall for Labour, representing a seven point swing from Jeremy Corbyn’s party to Boris Johnson’s Conservatives.

https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2019-election

But also (from the same link)

the Conservatives had a 47 point lead among those aged 65+ (among whom Labour’s vote share fell by 8 points)

Why should I as an almost 60 year old pay for free child care hours for young families? I don't get any benefit from that, but I understand that this is a decision that benefits (or should do) society as a whole and it is not all about me

You get the benefit of being paid for by those working mothers and the children they have. They are the ones that are paying, and will continue to pay, for the ever growing over 65's. Those children will be paying for you in your eighties

The changes should have been made way earlier, actually, when it was apparent that longevity was increasing at a high rate. It wasn't, which is why we are where we are, and changes had to be accelerated.

@Express0 but most WASPI women (and men of the same age) were in pension schemes with a retirement age of 60. The McCloud remedy is about giving them the right to remain in those pension schemes for longer.

Yes, current schemes are Career Average with a NPA that matches state pension age but only a relatively small element of WASPI women’s teachers pensions would come from these schemes.