We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

MSE News: Government refuses to budge on women's state pension changes

The Government has refused to budge on changes to the state pension that will hit hundreds of thousands of women aged 55-65 as MPs hold a second debate...
Read the full story:
'Government refuses to budge on women's state pension changes as MPs hold second debate'
OfficialStamp.gif
Click reply below to discuss. If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply. If you aren’t sure how it all works, read our New to Forum? Intro Guide.
«13456789

Comments

  • mystic_trev
    mystic_trev Posts: 5,434 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Unfortunately the pressure group WASPI (who started the Petition) didn't stick to their original remit of campaigning against the 2011 changes. These are unfair, and they'd have had a much better chance of some success, had they.
  • saver861
    saver861 Posts: 1,408 Forumite
    Back to square one then.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 120,095 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    The Government responded correctly based on the mess WASPI made of their campaigning. You do feel that had the campaign focused solely on the generally regarded unfair acceleration in 2011, there may well have been a different outcome.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • OldBeanz
    OldBeanz Posts: 1,438 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Along with arguing that women had missed the 1995 change in pension dates; blaming the 1995 Tory government rather than any since; that men were the victims of inequality; that the matter had been reviewed in 2011; that this will all be forgotten by the time of the next popularity pole; and that GO was never going to give any money; they did well.
  • tgroom57
    tgroom57 Posts: 1,432 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    My take on it is that they were having a whinge. I've seen no sensible, actionable proposals that could alleviate the situation. To obtain a good outcome you need to have a reasonable, actionable alternative to suggest - whether you're complaining about a pair of faulty shoes or the withholding of the first 6 years of your state pension.
  • zagfles
    zagfles Posts: 21,548 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Chutzpah Haggler
    tgroom57 wrote: »
    My take on it is that they were having a whinge. I've seen no sensible, actionable proposals that could alleviate the situation. To obtain a good outcome you need to have a reasonable, actionable alternative to suggest - whether you're complaining about a pair of faulty shoes or the withholding of the first 6 years of your state pension.
    One sensible proposal which was mentioned in one of the debates was to keep the pension credit age as per the 1995 timetable (pension credit age follows the female state pension age but applies to men too).

    This would have helped the worst affected, and it wouldn't have been too costly. But it was drowned out by WASPI's ridiculous demand to turn the clock back for all 1950's women.
  • SnowMan
    SnowMan Posts: 3,743 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 3 February 2016 at 10:57PM
    Nearly 14,000 disabled people have mobility cars taken away

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35476904
    Despite being an amputee with spina bifida, who is only able to take a few steps, Christine Mitchell did not score the points she needed to keep her Motability car.
    An example of real hardship resulting from Government policies.

    Perhaps MSE could cover this rather than this nonsense WASPI self-interested campaign for women born in the 1950s to get their state pensions from age 60, for reasons that simply don't stand up to scrutiny (albeit the 2011 changes were with too little notification and it is reasonable to challenge these)

    The WASPI women talk of compelling stories of hardship of having to live off savings or rely on a partner's earnings, because they are not being allowed their state pensions from age 60 and aren't being given sufficiently preferential treatment over males or those born later than them.
    From Work and Pensions Committee oral evidence
    Lin Phillips: Absolutely, yes. We have lots and lots of really compelling stories. If you are out of the labour market in your 60s it is impossible, virtually, to get back in. Some women are finding you can sign on for Jobseeker’s allowance maybe for six months and if it is income based, if you have a partner, then you do not get an income after that. When you have been used to working all your life and you are not contributing, that has a knock-on effect on relationships, on how you feel. I know if I wake up in the morning and I do not have any work, it is the first thing I think of because I am not contributing, so you are using your savings.
    What a contrast to the hardship of those individuals who are having their motability vehicles taken off them just because the medical assessments for PIP are not being done correctly.

    Those individuals whose mobility lifelines are being taken away aren't asking for preferential treatment they are asking for the simple adaptations that allow them to do the normal things that the rest of us take for granted.
    I came, I saw, I melted
  • atush
    atush Posts: 18,731 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    And what about the 60% reversal on appeal?

    son considerably less?
  • colsten
    colsten Posts: 17,597 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Unfortunately the pressure group WASPI (who started the Petition) didn't stick to their original remit of campaigning against the 2011 changes. These are unfair, and they'd have had a much better chance of some success, had they.

    Did they ever only campaign against 2011? AFAIK, their FB page always said "We are an action group campaigning against the unfair changes to the State Pension Age imposed on women born on or after 6th April 1951 (and how the changes were implemented). This includes both the 1995 and 2011 Pension Acts.". And if that wasn't clear enough, they always called for the full pension money for their cohort from age 60, which clearly means they also campaigned against 1995. Even the official Petition text referred to 1995.

    But leaving that aside: I am delighted the government held firm against their ridiculous demands. Should be interesting what they will try next. Talks of demos and chaining themselves to the gates of Buckingham Palace have been some of the less insane thoughts floated on Facebook and Twitter, so the entertainment value seems secured for some time yet.
  • It seems to me that they are attempting to hold the Government to ransom, without having a viable hostage. What's the worse they could do?

    Silly tactics
    Warning ..... I'm a peri-menopausal axe-wielding maniac ;)
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.1K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 600.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.4K Life & Family
  • 258.7K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.