Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the continuing impact of the alterations to the state pension age on women born in the 1950s, on or after 6 April 1951.

Lord Freud

The decision to equalise the State Pension age for men and women dates back to 1995 and addresses a longstanding inequality. Since April 2010, women’s State Pension age has been gradually increasing for those born after 6 April 1950. Following sharp increases in life expectancy projections, and therefore the increase in the number of people living longer in retirement, this timetable was accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011.

The Government listened to concerns expressed by those affected by the Pension Act 2011 changes, and took action to limit the maximum change to State Pension age to 18 months, a concession worth over £1billion.

All those affected by the faster equalisation timetable will reach State Pension age following the introduction of the new State Pension, which is more generous for many women who have historically done poorly under the current system.

The average woman reaching State Pension age in the first forty years of the new State Pension is estimated to receive 10 per cent more State Pension over her lifetime than the average man.

Women retiring today can still expect to receive the State Pension for 26 years on average – several years longer than men. And this generation of women will spend a higher proportion of their lives in retirement than any before.