Age limit means a million women will miss out on pensioner bonds

ALMOST a million retired women have been barred from investing in pensioner bonds because they are under the age limit of 65.

More than 900,000 cannot take advantage of the Government-backed scheme even though they qualify for the state pension at the age of 62 years and five months.

Critics said women were being punished for having a lower state pension age than men – which is 65 – and that all pensioners should be entitled to the highinterest fixed-term bonds.

The Treasury claims it would have been ‘ unlawful’ under equality regulations to lower the threshold for women-only.

However, hundreds of angry pensioners have now signed a petition protesting against the ‘injustice’ in the bond scheme, which was launched last month as a lifeline for older people suffering from record-low interest rates on their savings.

Personal finance expert Sarah Pennells, who started the petition, said: ‘These women have already seen their state pension age rise and they feel doubly penalised by the Government.

‘Many female pensioners over 62 feel really hacked off they are excluded from this.’

Among those who signed the petition is Sylvia Corlett, 62, from Kent, who wrote: ‘I am classed as a pensioner in all other aspects, claiming state pension, pension credit, bus pass, winter fuel allowance etc. Yet I am NOT classed as a pensioner regarding the new pensioner bonds. Why?’.

Rosalyn Jarrott, of Stourbridge, West Midlands, added: ‘I had thought as soon as I was offi- cially a pensioner, I would be able to look after my savings with the pensioners’ bond.’ Susan Wrigglesworth, of Ilkley, West Yorkshire, said: ‘I am a pensioner under 65 and am being unfairly discriminated against.’

The bonds offer 2.8 per cent interest for one year and 4 per cent for three years – almost double the interest rates typically offered on the high street.

The Government predicts that more than a million Britons over 65s will benefit and more than 610,000 have already invested a total of £7.5billion.

But Dr Ros Altmann, the Gov- ernment’s older workers adviser, accused the scheme of gender discrimination, adding: ‘If the Government is trying to help pensioners to live off their savings then surely that should include women who are under 65 but already taking a pension.

‘This is a group of women who have already lost out as a result of changes to the pension system. ‘They have not saved as much as men of their age because they did not earn as much. And they will also have lower state pension entitlements than men because many had shorter working lives or took breaks from the labour market to care for children.’

The row comes just one day after George Osborne was accused of ‘ buying votes’ by changing the rules to allow hundreds of thousands more people to invest in bonds just weeks before the general election.

A Treasury spokesman said last night: ‘Setting a different age for men and women to purchase the bonds would be discriminatory and unlawful under the Equalities Act, which is why we decided to limit the bonds to those aged 65 and over, to ensure these bonds are supporting savers who rely on their savings in retirement.’

He said the bonds had already helped hundreds of thousands of to secure a more comfortable financial future.

‘Unfair discrimination’