State Pension Retirement Age for Women

I didn't realise this until toady, but the 'equalisation' of State pension Retirement Age (SRA) for women, from 60 to 65, will actually occur in the first five years of the decade 2010 - 2020! See here

If you are a woman born on or before 5 April 1950, you can get your State Pension from the age of 60.
If you are a woman born on or after 6 April 1955, you can get your State Pension from the age of 65.
If you are a woman born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1955, you can get your State Pension when you reach State Pension age. This will be between 60 and 65, depending on your date of birth.

Ok, Ok I've been suckered by not reading the details of this change quite closely enough - and most affected women in these age bands will probably have already asked, and received, confirmation of their own SRAs. Yet methinks there is general ignorance in the media too because every site/page I have looked up tonight (aside from the DWP, of course) seem to use almost exactly the same words to describe this (inaccurately!):

(Google with 'state retirement age 2010 2020' and see what you get)

Guardian Money December 1, 2005:
At the moment the state pension age is 65 for men and 60 for women, though for women it will gradually increase to 65 between 2010 and 2020

GAD: Government Actuary Department, 1998:
The planned change in women's state retirement age from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020 will further increase the working age population.

BBC: Q&A: Raising the state pension age:
But the pension age for women is already going to be raised by five years. This means that women will also have to retire at 65. This change will be phased in between 2010 and 2020..

'Direct Gov.uk':
Although you can retire at any age, you can only claim your State Pension from aged 60 if you’re a woman (progressively rising from 2010 to 65 by 2020) or from age 65 if you’re a man.

Times Online May 20, 2006:
Currently paid to men from 65 and women from 60, although the pension age for women will gradually rise from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020.

Chris Bishop, retirement-matters.co.uk:..the actual age for women to receive the Basic State Pension gradually changes between 2010 - 2020.

TUC: 11 August 2006
..only a third retire early 'fully voluntarily' and many survive on state support such as Incapacity Benefit or inadequate occupational pensions until they reach state pension age (65 for men, 60 for women but rising to 65 between 2010 - 2020).

And my favourite....
The Rt Hon John Hutton MP
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Pensions Reform Statement

Thursday 25th May 2006

Mr Speaker, we propose to increase the State Pension Age in line with life expectancy. The State Pension Age for women is already due to rise from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020 to equalise with men’s State Pension Age. There will be a subsequent rise for both men and women from 65 to 66 over a two year period from 2024 – and further increases, also over two years, to 67 starting from 2034 and to 68 from 2044. No-one over 47 today will be affected by these changes.

Incidentally you can find some people who have correctly described the situation for what it is - not merely what they have been told it is (without the 'elaboration'). Putting 'state retirement age "2010 and 2015"' into Google search produces:

'Security in Retirement...' from unioncambridgeshire.org.uk:

What age will you retire?
In 1995 the Pension Act meant that women’s state pension age would increase from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2015, to bring them into line with the state pension age for men. Effectively, women born before 1950 will retire at 60 years of age and those born after 1955 will retire at 65 years of age, i.e. those born in 1951 retire age 61, 1952 retire aged 62, and so on

But having looked for other references than this, I can't find a single one.

How the change of age from 60 to 65 actually takes place:

Well, that's bizarre in and of itself:

Someone reaching 60 on 5 April 2010:........ retires on 5 April
Anyone reaching 60
..between 6 April 2010 AND 5 May 2010..... reitires on 6 May
Anyone reaching 60
..between 6 May 2010 AND 5 June 2010..... reitires on 6 July
Anyone reaching 60
.between 6 June 2010 AND 5 July 2010..... reitires on 6 Sept

So that no woman will actually retire in June 2010, August 2010, October 2010 and so on... A month's worth of retirees would be called up on the exactly the same date - and this leads to peculiar results

A woman born on 6 May 1950 receives her pension two months after a woman born one day earlier - on 5 May 1950.Two women born 'midmonth' - 20th - one month apart receive their first payments exactly two months apart. As one is one month younger anyway, she will receive exactly one month less in total pension at any given age. A woman born 'start month' receives the same start date but is 15 days older and so has recieved 15 days less pension by a given age. The woman one day her 'senior' (and therefore born 'endmonth' of the previous cohort) receives her payments two months earlier - and thus has always received two months additional pension in total by a given age.

So, rather than move individual retirement dates foward by two days for each days difference in age - resulting in a smoothed difference in the amounts recieved of just two days worth - the difference can build up to thirty times this. Assuming an average SP by 2010 of £90pw, that is nearly £800 less pension (in the first year) receivable by one woman born one day later than another at the 5th/6th divide. This, rather than the fact that it is going to happen in five years instead of ten, is the disturbing thing for me. It seems unjust - and it is unjust.

Needless to say I would like people's views on this - but I shall be writing to my MP - if only to make him aware of it.