State pension: Britons call for ‘bridging pension’ to help women affected by age change | Personal Finance | Finance
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State Pension age changes were enacted to ensure age equalisation between men and women, after old rules meant women could retire at 60, and men at 65. These alterations were enacted as a result of two separate Pension Acts, in 1995 and 2011, respectively. However, certain women, particularly those born in the 1950s, have asserted they were not given ample notice to prepare for these changes.
As a result, then, many have said they have faced financial hardship, societal issues and even mental health challenges.
The campaign group Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) alongside another group known as Backto60 have raised these issues, although they have different aims.
Now, a petition has appeared on Parliament’s official website, calling for the Government to take further action.
Entitled ‘Provide bridging pension and compensation for WASPI women’ the petition urges the matter to be considered in further depth.
READ MORE: State pension age: Britons urged to claim extra £64 per week
As of yet, the petition has not garnered a huge response, however, it is set to run until December 2021.
At 10,000 signatures, official petitions of this kind will trigger a Government response – usually in writing.
Once climbing over the 100,000 signature level, the petition is then considered for debate in Parliament.
Express.co.uk spoke to WASPI about the petition, where further clarity was provided on the matter.
The organisation has said it is not a petition which is associated with them, and that it “confuses our ask for fair transition with asking for ‘compensation equivalent to the ‘lost’ pension.”
It acknowledges that kind of compensation will not be possible, but believes help could still be available in other ways.
A DWP spokesperson spoke to Express.co.uk concerning the matter.
They said: “The Government decided 25 years ago that it was going to make the state pension age the same for men and women as a long-overdue move towards gender equality and this has been clearly communicated.
“Raising state pension age in line with life expectancy changes has been the policy of successive administrations over many years.”
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