Rise in female pension age drives up employment rate
THE employment rate in the UK has risen to a record high - but it has been driven by a hike in the state pension age for women. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that 76.2 per cent of adults aged 16-64 were in paid work between August-October 2019 . That was a record high - and up four percentage points compared to the same quarter in 1971, when comparable numbers were first published. But while all that might sound like good news for the economy, it is
important to understand exactly what has been changing. Analysis by the ONS showed the rising employment rate is largely a result of pension changes which have resulted in fewer women retiring between the ages of 60-65. The 1995 Pensions Act increased the state pension age for women from 60 to 65 in order to equalise the age with men. This transition was later sped up by the 2011 Pensions Act. This means some women who thought they would retire and receive a state pension at 60 have actually had to work longer. Those affected were born in the decade after April 1950, with those born after April 1953 particularly affected.
Campaigners fighting the way in which the state pension age for men and women was equalised said the Government is treating 3.8 million women unfairly as they are being forced to wait up to six years longer than planned for their state pension. The ONS figures show the employment rate for women has increased by 19.4 percentage points, from 52.6 per cent in August-October 1971 to 72.0 per cent in the same quarter in 2019. The employment rate for men has actually gone in the opposite direction. It stood at 91.0 per cent in 1971 but has dropped to 80.4 per cent now. A Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) group spokesperson
said: “Whilst increased employment is something to be welcomed, these statistics show that it is for the wrong reasons. “WASPI women are suffering severe injustices because of successive governments’ mismanagement of changes to the state pension age which has resulted in many women being forced to go back to work. “We have heard countless stories of WASPI women who can no longer rely on dwindling savings and are now seeking work in an employment market that does not
benefit them, with many WASPI women feeling pressured to take jobs that are inappropriate for their health. “This is coupled with the additional pressures faced by WASPI women, including those who took on caring responsibilities in the expectation they would receive a state pension at 60. “These statistics show that women affected by these changes are suffering now and a solution must be imminent.”