Claim dole, minister tells women hit by pension shif t

WOMEN who are l osing thousands of pounds because of rises in their state pension age should go on the dole, a minister suggested yesterday.

Shailesh Vara indicated there would be no financial help for the 2.6million women born in the 1950s who have been hit by the age threshold increase. The Tory work and pensions minister defended the policy, saying there were a ‘whole lot of other benefits’ women could claim, including jobseeker’s allowance.

his comments were described as ‘worse than shameful’ by campaigners. Mps said telling women who have worked hard all their lives to claim unemployment benefits was treating them ‘like workshy teenagers’.

Women’s state pension age has been gradually increasing to come into line with men’s. But in 2011 the coalition government decided to increase the speed at which it is rising. It will now be 65 by 2018 and 66 by 2020 – instead of 65 by 2020.

The increase will see millions losing up to £12,000 in state pension and pension credit, with around 500,000 women being forced to wait a year longer to qualify and 300,000 waiting up to 18 months longer.

Speaking in the house of Commons yesterday, Mr Vara said: ‘There are a whole lot of other benefits that are available to the women who may be affected. For example, there’s jobseeker’s allowance, there’s employment and support allowance, there’s income support, carer’s allowance, personal independence payments.

‘And let us not forget that also pensions will be uprated. There’s the tri- ple lock. There’s the simplified new state pension, which is coming in from April. pension freedom, which allows those who have a pension to be able to have some flexibility.’

The minister also mentioned cold weather and winter fuel payments, saying it was important to look at things ‘in a broad context’.

But the Women Against State pension Inequality group said his comments were worse than shameful.

A spokesman added: ‘The suggestion that women who have been callously robbed of their pension should claim jobseeker’s allowance is an utter insult to a large cohort of women who have made many years’ contributions to their state pensions.’

In a later debate, labour Mp Barbara Keeley said the Government should be aware ‘what it means to have to go to the job centre’.

She added: ‘We should be ashamed to treat in this way women who worked all their lives.’

The Westminster hall debate was triggered by a petition, which gained 140,000 signatures, calling for women affected by the rise to be given financial help.

labour Mp helen Jones, chairman of the petitions committee, said making women join back-to-work schemes while they waited for their delayed state pension was treating them ‘like a bunch of workshy teenagers, when they have worked all their lives’.

But Conservative Mp Richard Graham said giving financial help to all women affected would cost £30billion – more than the budget for Scotland.

Mr Vara also appeared to rule out any help for the women affected, saying only that a concession was made in 2011 to limit the maximum delay to 18 months instead of two years, at a cost of £1.1billion.

‘Worse than shameful’