Four million women hit by pension ‘catastrophe’
OLDER women have suffered “catastrophic” changes to the pension age, the Court of Appeal heard yesterday.
As many as 3.8 million born in the 1950s have been “disenfranchised” by Government bids to cut the pension bill by equalising the pension age of men and women to 65 then 66.
Julie Delve, 62, and Karen Glynn, 63 – supported by campaign group BackTo60 – lost a landmark High Court fight against the Department forWork and Pensions last year.
But the pair have crowdfunded £70,000 for a challenge and say raising their pension age unlawfully discriminated against them on the grounds of age and sex, and that they were not given adequate notice of the changes to make alternative plans.
Ms Delve expected to get her state pension at 60 in 2018, but after the changes, she will not receive it until she is 66, in 2024. Ms Glynn anticipated receiving her state pension at age 60 in 2016, but will not now receive it until she is 66 in 2022.
Joanne Welch, founder and campaign director at BackTo60, said: “There is no doubt in our minds that this is discrimination and we demand the return of our earned dues.”
Michael Mansfield QC, representing the women, said the impact of the pension age change has been “dramatic”. He added: “This has been catastrophic for this group.” Speaking at a virtual hearing, Mr Mansfield told three senior judges: “We have a group of essentially, economically and emotionally, disenfranchised women.
“So it is against that background that we do submit that there grounds for discrimination.”
Mr Mansfield said that alongside the “economic, almost poverty line existence” that they have to face, there is also the “psychological mental stress placed upon them” which reduces many people unable to even do what they need to do to “make ends meet”.
He referred to “makeshift measures” women may have to resort to in order to survive, such as selling their are home or using savings. He described the six-year wait women have as a “considerable” period of time which translates to a “considerable” sum of money. The state pension age is moving to 66 for both sexes after The Pensions Act 1995 legislated for the changes while the Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the rise.
The pension due is around £8,000 a year, the delay in receiving it means some women have lost around £50,000. Mr Mansfield said it is not uncommon for victims to face “straitened circumstances”, particularly for single women who have had low-paid, part-time jobs.
He also said another common feature for women in this age group is for them to be responsible for their elderly or infirm parents.
Mr Mansfield pointed out that nearly four million men born in 1953 were offered extra National Insurance credits to make sure they qualified for a full pension.
A woman born before April 6 1950 continued to receive her state pension at age 60. But the state pension age for females born after that date was raised progressively, to 65 initially for those born after October 5 1954.
The appeal will continue today with the ruling expected at a later date.