Government pushes ahead with plans to raise state pension age for women

The UK coalition government has won a vote in the House of Commons to take forward plans to raise the state pension age for women. 500,000 women will now have to wait 18 months to two years longer than they expected before they can collect their state pension, costing them up to £15,000 each.

The equalisation of the state pension between men and women will now be accelerated with women’s retirement age rising from 60 to 65 in 2018, two years earlier than previous plans. The retirement age will then rise to 66 for both men and women in 2020.

Many of the women affected, who are currently in their mid to late 50s, are already seriously disadvantaged when it comes to pensions, especially those who work part-time. Most of the women will have earned less over their lifetime, have less savings, and less of a pension than men of the equivalent age. Many of the women will also have had interrupted careers due to taking time out to care for children, which means they will have vast holes in their pension pots. Many will also not have had access to company pension schemes.  On top of this, these women have now been given very little notice to make alternative plans for their retirement.

More than 170 MPs have now signed a Commons motion calling for a rethink over the plans, including both Conservative and Liberal Democrat backbenchers.