• The Government’s decision to equalise the state pension ages of men and women faces a Court of Appeal hearing starting today (https://www.judiciary.uk/you-and-the-judiciary/going-to-court/court-of-appeal-home/the-court-of-appeal-civil-division-live-streaming-of-court-hearings/)
• Millions of women born in the 1950s who saw their state pension age increase by up to six years could be affected
• Campaign groups claim state pension age increases were discriminatory and they were given insufficient notice to plan for retirement
• The cost of reversing state pension age rises brought forward by the 1995 and 2011 Pensions Acts previously estimated at £215 billion
Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, comments:
“Millions of women born in the 1950s have been affected by state pension age rises, with some forced to wait up to six years longer to retire than they previously anticipated.
“The state pension age controversy primarily centres on the 1995 and 2011 Pensions Acts. The 1995 Act set in statute plans announced by Conservative Chancellor Kenneth Clarke at the 1993 Budget to equalise the state pension ages of men and women at 65 between 2010 and 2020.
“The 2011 Pensions Act accelerated these plans, meaning women’s and men’s state pension ages were equalised at 65 in 2018 and are in the process of increasing to 66 by October 2020. The state pension ages of men and women are then tabled to rise to 67 by 2028 and 68 by 2039.
“In June 2019 the case appeared before the High Court1, with the claimants arguing the reforms were discriminatory against women and the Government failed to adequately inform those affected of the changes. In October 2019 the Court dismissed the claims on all grounds, leading to today’s appeal.”
How have women been affected and what would reversing the decision cost?
“The impact of state pension age equalisation will depend on when you were born, but there are some born in the mid-1950s who have seen their retirement pushed back six years as a result of the changes.
“Successive Governments have argued equalisation is fair given women can not only build up exactly the same entitlements to the state pension as men but also, on average, tend to live longer.
“On the other side of the coin, women still tend to be paid less than their male counterparts and thus often find it more difficult to build up a private pension pot to supplement their state pension.
“It cannot be doubted that many women have suffered serious hardship as a result of increases to the state pension age. In fact, Government stats show the number of women aged 60 and over claiming out of work benefits increased by over 200% between 2013 and 20192.
“The Court case also represents a serious risk to the Treasury, with the Government has previously warned paying full restitution to the women affected would cost the taxpayer ‘in the region of £215 billion’3.”
2 https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7405/ (Scroll to bottom of document – ‘Working age benefits update 2020’)
