Page 14 - BPW-UK - E-news - Edition 123 - July 2024 - Binded

A Landmark Decision.

“Forward I was looking to retiring,
Teaching no longer inspiring…….
Walking, gardening out of doors,
Flying away on scenic tours……”

M. Tucknott, (BPW member till 1991)

Unfortunately mum did not live long
enough to enjoy her retirement, so I
decided that I would enjoy mine.
Consequently, I made sure that when I
was ready to retire I would have everything in place. I had my teaching pension and I had
also taken out a private pension when I was in my 40’s. I knew at that stage that my State
Pension Age (SPa) was 60 years.

However in the 12 months that it took to gain the permissions that I needed to organize
and take my early retirement my SPa kept changing, sometimes month to month. By the
time I took early retirement my SPa had changed from 60 years of age to 62 years and 10
months.

I had been caught in the Pension Act of 2011 which brought forward the completion to
increase women’s State Pension Age to 65 to November 2018. At the same time it was
announced that the State Pension Age would be increased to 66 for both men and women
to October 2020.

The 2011 Act affected women born on or after 6th April 1950 and the 5th April 1960. I was
lucky in that I was hardly affected at all; however many women caught in this age bracket
were badly affected in that they were not aware that they would be affected. Some had not
realised what the change would really mean for them and some were given very short no-
tice of the impending changes. In fact they argued that they had not been given enough
time to make financial provision to cover their shortfall.

My sister-in-law was affected by the change in the law though she did say that she had re-
ceived letters from DWP advising her of the changes so she was able to prepare financially.
However she does go on to write;

“My main issue was that to fall in line with the new pension age of 65, the number
of years of NI contributions was raised from 30 years to 35 years relatively late in
the process. I had had 33 years so thought I was fine but then found I was 2 years
short so had to buy 2 years of contributions to qualify for the full pension.
Also although my birthday was at the end of March I didn’t receive my pension
until the November, so I was actually 65yrs and 8 months.”

Women against State Pension Inequality (WASPI)
https://www.waspi.co.uk/

A voluntary UK-based organisation founded in 2015 began to campaign against the way in
which the state pension age for men and women was equalised. They agreed with the
equalization but not the way in which it was undertaken.

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