Moray SNP News

MORAY MP CALLS ON UK GOV TO ACT ON PENSION INEQUALITIES FOR WOMEN BORN IN THE 1950s

Moray’s MP Angus Robertson has reiterated the SNP’s long standing call for immediate action from the UK Government in tackling pension inequalities for women born in the 1950s who will be affected by the decision to raise the state pension age from 60 to 65.

The Pensions Act 1995 legislated for the planned age rise to take place between April 2010 and 2020 but the Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the latter part of that timetable so that the state pension age for women will now reach 65 in November 2018.

Local MP Mr Robertson has been contacted by several constituents in Moray who will be adversely affected by the changes.

Commenting, Angus Robertson MP said:

“I am receiving correspondence from Moray women born in the 1950s who will lose out as a result of transitional arrangements to the new pension age.

“While the SNP agrees wholeheartedly with equalisation of the state pension age, we do not support the unfair manner in which the changes were made. You can’t simply ignore what has gone before. Many women born in the 1950s have had only a few years to make alternative arrangements which is causing undue hardship by shattering their retirement plans.

“The SNP continues to press the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions on this issue and we hope that the pressure on him on this issue will result in a change of heart from the UK Government.

“Pensions are very long term investments and to change the goalposts so drastically such a short time from retirement is entirely unfair and puts huge pressure on people’s finances to try and re-plan their pension contributions at a late stage.

“This issue is not only about the pace of change but illustrates the Government’s failure to address a lifetime of low pay and inequality faced by many women, by arbitrarily targeting women born in in the 1950s.

“Many women who made solid retirement plans are understandably upset at this change which completely undermines those plans.

“A shifting of the entitlement by six months from April 2020 to October that year is wholly inadequate when a significantly longer extension of the transition is required.

“When you can find £167 billion to spend on nuclear weapons, you can find the money to do the right thing and look after your pensioners - the Government must revisit the inequalities felt by women born in the 1950s immediately.”