Women's state pension age: Parliament debate - add your views?

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello all

Parliament's Petitions Committee has been in touch - having seen our webchat with Mhairi Black about women's state pension ages - to ask whether MNers would like to have some input into a Westminster Hall debate about the issue.

This debate is as a result of a petition calling for the government to 'Make fair transitional state pension arrangements for 1950s women' getting the required number of signatures for a Parliament debate.

The Committee is after MNers' thoughts on the following questions; you can see links to the first Commons debate here (video) and here (transcript).

What were the most important points in the first debate for you? What do you think should have been covered that was not?

What points do you think a second debate should focus on?

What questions would you ask the Minister following their response to the debate?

Your thoughts will be fed back to MPs taking part in the Westminster Hall debate.

Thanks
MNHQ

I was born in December 1953.
I was told a few years ago now I would get my State pension at 63 years and 3 months.
I felt cheated and angry but had to accept it. I do realise womens retirement age has to be brought in line with mens, However, I then was told not long ago I now have to wait until I am 65 and 3 months.

It is totally wrong that some of us have been put back twice and withj short notice.
I am now 62 and will shortly lose my job.
I have been made redundant 4 times since I was 40 and each time it has been more and more difficult to get a job.
Now at 62 I will have to look for work. I only have a tiny private pension and I am dreading having to deal with the job centre again, especially with their lack of understanding these days.
I have written to Jeremy Corbyn, and my local MP but 2 week slater have had no response from either.
I doubt with this Government that anything will change.

I am now 60. I had just about accepted the increase to 65 as realistically I accept the need to equalise retirement ages. However the extra year to 66 is so unreasonable on top of a five year increase.

Another issue which I am sure many people do not yet realise is that the chances of getting the full 'new flat rate state pension' are very remote if you have ever been in a contracted out pension scheme. I requested a quote and discovered that £32.48 a week will be deducted to take account of the fact I was contracted out during membership of two schemes during my working life.

Since having children I have mainly worked part time so my pensionable service is far less than the number of years in the scheme on which the deduction will be based (and the pension tiny). Furthermore, as only 35 years are counted for the full state pension the number of years contracted out is a much higher proportion of that than if a full working life of possibly 48 years was used.

So unfair!! You work hard all life, try and make provision and find you've been totally done.

everyone is seeming very happy about accepting this line that we need to equalise retirement ages - does no one question that given we've not equalised salaries, barriers to work, levels of responsibility outside of work etc?

men aren't even enforced to pay child support properly when they bugger off and abandon their children leaving women with both the financial weight of raising children and the practicalities of combining work and childcare single handed (either paying a fortune and/or working and earning less) yet we're happy to say men and women have the same playing field for providing for their retirement?

selective equality.

Hmm...good point TheHoneyBadger

I agree. I never even considered all that. I withdraw my acceptance of equalising the retirement age,...at least until there is equality in the areas you mention.
Thanks for waking me up on that one!

I was born 1955 and my SPA has gone 60, 65,66. Been married and had three children and now have three grandchildren. Divorced in 1997/8 and judge in court said I would get my SP at 60 to justify not awarding me a share of 5 pension pots in my ex-husbands name, all accrued over the course of our 22 year marriage. Worked PT but had find FT work in mid 40's and started to build in occ pension scheme. Left my job last year, just prior to turning 60, after losing my eldest son after being a carer for him - all down to ex-husband's behaviour which he was allowed to continue on following a non fault divorce (whoever dreamed that scheme up?). Developed cancer around same time as left my job and advised not to work or have any more stress. After a lifetime of being treated second class am being shafted yet again by mainly men in power (70+% in ParliaMENt). I only discovered 1995 was critical in the last few months after joining WASPI. I will challenge this ADDED inequity, of course I will!

A simple factually correct formula to work from
Born 1950's
Girls had achieve higher score than boys to pass for Grammar School (coz too many girls passed otherwise), so impacted on Opps to Achieve Income, aspirations were squashed too as boys were considered much more important
Started work age 16 on wards and earlier for some
Equal Pay legislation 1975/6, main objection was 'unaffordable', Gender Pay Gap=19+% (2014) still (Note: legislative theory and Reality differs) and Pay Gap widens for over 60's
Expectation in 1970's women leave job after having children and lose income and turned away from occ pensions and promotions
Marriage gives financial ownership to man - divorce, e.g.not until 2000 were women awarded fair share of pension pots
2004-7 A 1995 State Pension Act is changed and/or planned to be changed more, most women not informed but some start to discover, all these changes seriously disadvantage them and then 2011 more changes occur, changes are radical and uneven and do not reflect the Pay Gap or that Women have less Occ Pensions and where do have them have less in them due to less pay and less promotion (a massive difference in published data)
As approaching pension age (well which one??) women find out they are not getting what was promised them for majority of working life and so raise the issue, only to discover more changes are taking place in Spring 2016 AFTER they have been made redundant or retired (often associated with ill health and/or caring for others, as in their earlier years when they had children)
Taking action under these circumstances is not bad, mad or wrong! To have even more taken off you late in life after a lifetime of the same is immoral, all based on biological sex - no wonder women were not informed in a timely fashion, we are re-doing the Suffragette movement. Main objection and reason for these changes are unaffordable (sound familiar?)

Well said, purple. I'm sorry to hear you had cancer. I hope you're okay, health-wise at least.

Amazing how the govt has rushed through these pension changes for women, when after all the years since the equal pay act they do nothing to make sure women get equal pay or promotion opportunities.

purple - perfect example! it is shockingly 'blind' to say ah but we're making things equal by raising women's retirement age. it's just the final insult.

Just watched the SMP lady on Channel 4- wished they had let her have more time and I wanted to punch the conservative!

it hasn't been mentioned but also noticing they've reduced and will no doubt reduce further the number of years of childraising (receipt of child benefit) you can count towards pension qualification simultaneous to raising the age by over 10%.

sorry forgot to say that when they are measuring the disprortionate level at which cuts and changes are hitting women under the tories i hope they include things like the above.

Thanks to everyone for your comments: the Petitions Committee has asked us to pass on the following message -

"Hi Mumsnet,

I’d like to thank everyone who took part in this thread discussion in advance of Monday’s debate on transitional arrangements for women born in the 1950s who’ve been affected by changes to the state pension age. We read through all of your comments and made a summary of them available to MPs before the debate. Many of you will have heard the points you made reflected in the debate.

The Petitions Committee believes it is important to do as much as possible to get the public involved in petition debates. We are extremely grateful to all of you for taking the time to contribute.

All of the information about this petition debate can be found here: www.parliament.uk/petition-debate-1950s-women-state-pension

If you missed the debate on Monday you can watch/listen to it here: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/bf878aac-b8e6-40a2-bc03-9bbe5254fc92

We hope you have enjoyed taking part in this thread and a huge thanks to Mumsnet for hosting it."

Anyone affected or interested in this should click on the second link above and actually watch the whole debate. Previously I was just interested. Now I'm bloody livid ! Women born in the 1950's are being well and truly shafted by this government.