State pension age equalised for men and women - MSE News 6 November 2018 at 11:36AM in Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning 54 replies 6.7K views

Former_MSE_Naomi

From today, women in the UK will be eligible for the state pension at the same age as men...

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'State pension age equalised for men and women'

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SnowMan

MSE_Naomi wrote: »

From today, women in the UK will be eligible for the state pension at the same age as men..

Female : dob 5/12/1953, State Pension date = 6/11/2018 (today)
Male: dob 5/12/1953, State Pension Date = 5/12/2018

So only equal from today for those born on precisely 6/11/1953.

About 97% of men reaching SPA in the next month (born between 7/11/53 and 5/12/53) are being discriminated against. It's deemed to be lawful discrimination.

We have to wait until 6th December 2018 until we have equality between men and women.

It's taken a long time, too long some would say, but we are nearly there :T

OldBeanz

On behalf of all men, I would like to thank the WASPI campaign for all the work they have undertaken to highlight pension inequality, now that the Government will no longer directly discriminate against men (although hopefully they are working with the NHS and other services to equalise life expectancy for males and females).#smileyface.

Paul_Herring

OldBeanz wrote: »

although hopefully they are working with the NHS and other services to equalise life expectancy for males and females

.. it appears that other sections of society are working on that on their behalf:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/11/05/strangers-scared-give-female-heart-attack-victims-cpr-case-accused/

CKhalvashi

OldBeanz wrote: »

On behalf of all men, I would like to thank the WASPI campaign for all the work they have undertaken to highlight pension inequality, now that the Government will no longer directly discriminate against men (although hopefully they are working with the NHS and other services to equalise life expectancy for males and females).#smileyface.

I’d like to thank Women Against State Pension Equality too.

A fantastic job they’ve done at highlighting the discrimination against men in terms of State Pensions.

badmemory

I find it amazing. Well amazing that it has taken them 25 years to notice that we are to be treated equally, especially as we do have longer life expectancy. It is the extension with little warning to 66/67 for both sexes that is unfair & against what "they" said they would do.

OldBeanz

badmemory wrote: »

I find it amazing. Well amazing that it has taken them 25 years to notice that we are to be treated equally, especially as we do have longer life expectancy. It is the extension with little warning to 66/67 that is to is unfair & against what "they" said they would do.

Men were affected by the change as well. I remember on my 55th birthday thinking, yikes you will be a pensioner in 10 years and had a deja vu moment a year later. WASPI falls down because many of those behind it are sitting on DB pensions so have no empathy/support for those who are/could be really struggling, for those born after 1/1/60 or men. I do think the Government, in the nineties, should have allowed pension providers to sell policies which filled the gap.

Paul_Herring

for those born on or after 1/1/60

Yes, they are being that precise about it.

Nothing like cliff-edges in policy to engender feelings of inclusivity and equality.

Silvertabby

“ for those born on or after 1/1/60

Paul_Herring wrote: »

Yes, they are being that precise about it.

Nothing like cliff-edges in policy to engender feelings of inclusivity and equality.

That's where graspi fell down - their insistance that it would be 'fair' for all women born on or before 31 December 1959 to get their pensions from 60, whereas all women born on or after 1 January 1960 could jolly well wait until they were 66+.

May have had more sympathy if they had just concentrated on the 2011 changes - but I suppose that wouldn't have benefitted the graspi leaders, who wanted their 'pin' money from 60.

ADD: Women born in 1960 will be 58 this year. Any bets on the first screams of 'but I thought I'd get my pension at 60'...... and graspi2 ?

Malthusian

Silvertabby wrote: »

May have had more sympathy if they had just concentrated on the 2011 changes - but I suppose that wouldn't have benefitted the graspi leaders, who wanted their 'pin' money from 60.

The WASPI leadership had already tried a campaign which concentrated on the 2011 changes, a couple of years before they founded WASPI itself, and it flopped with virtually zero media interest.

It only took off when they dangled the imaginary £30,000+ prize in front of their donors. They couldn't then back down and go back to a campaign which had already failed, when their members were expecting a five-figure cheque from the Government, not a piddly few months' worth of State Pension.

The 2011 changes were campaigned against at the time, when they were going through Parliament, and campaigners successfully achieved a reduction in the maximum increase from 2 years to 18 months.

The problem with getting a WASPI2 involving 1960s-born women off the ground would be that women born in the 1960s would have been between 35 and 25 when the 1995 Pensions Act was passed. All of them will have been living with a State Pension Age of 65+ throughout most of their working lives. They will find it more difficult to pretend to themselves that they thought their SPA was 60.

OldBeanz

Malthusian wrote: »

...

The problem with getting a WASPI2 involving 1960s-born women off the ground would be that women born in the 1960s would have been between 35 and 25 when the 1995 Pensions Act was passed. All of them will have been living with a State Pension Age of 65+ throughout most of their working lives. They will find it more difficult to pretend to themselves that they thought their SPA was 60.

You are looking at another cliff edge with that one. My wife was born in May '62 and is due her pension at 67. She has friends she worked with in the seventies agitating through WASPI and would be mightily dischuffed if women less than 30 months older than her were getting their pensions 7 years before her.