Campaign fights pension age rises
Women plan to challenge government over retirement changes made with ‘little or no warning’
CAMPAIGNERS want to mount a legal challenge to the British government over changes to women’s retirement ages, saying women are having to work for longer than expected without fair warning of the change.
The “Waspi” (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign has raised €6,000 via crowdfunding to pay a barrister to assess options for legal action and has already gained almost half of the 100,000 petition signatures it needs to have the issue raised in the UK parliament.
The changes affect women born in the early 1950s and campaign co-founder Anne Keen says she started the protest after the Department for Work and Pensions said her expected retirement age had been increased significantly only a year and a half before her 60th birthday.
The issue has been a long time coming – it relates to acts passed in 1995 and 2011 to gradually equalise women’s state pension age with men’s from 60 to 65; and then further rises taking both men and women’s age to 67 for those born from March 1961 to April 1977.
Waspi campaigners do not oppose equalisation in principle but say those affected (born on or after April 6, 1951) were given “little or no warning” in sufficient time and that many have been left unprepared.
In some cases “retirement plans have been shattered, with devastating consequences”, they say.
Ms Keen said they recently met the leader of the Green Party, Nathalie Bennett, and also members of the shadow cabinet who were "extremely supportive". Waspi accept that it will not now be possible to reverse the pension age laws, but they are seeking financial compensation to help the women with the transition from their expected retirement age to the actual one.
More details on the group’s Facebook page at: Waspi or at its petition page: Waspi petition.
Examples of women’s UK state pension ages:
• Born May 5, 1950 – retirement age = 60
• Born May 5, 1951 – retirement age = 61
• Born May 5, 1952 – retirement age = 62
• Born May 5, 1953 = 63 and two months
• Born May 5, 1954 = 65 and a half
• Born May 5, 1955 = 66
(Retirement ages then gradually rise from 66 to 67 for those born between April 6, 1960 and March 6, 1961. Data taken from: Retirement ages).
