“The council notes that the government has failed to make fair transitional state pension arrangements for all women born on or after 6 April 1951, who have unfairly borne the burden of the increase to the state pension age (SPA) with lack of appropriate notification.
“Hundreds of thousands of women had significant pension changes imposed on them by the Pensions Acts of 1995 and 2011 with little/no/personal notification of the changes. Some women had only two years notice of a six-year increase to their state pension age.
“Many women born in the 1950s are living in hardship. Retirement plans have been shattered with devastating consequences. Many of these women are already out of the labour market, caring for elderly relatives, providing child-care for grandchildren or suffering discrimination in the workplace so struggle to find employment.
“Women born in this decade are suffering financially. These women have worked hard, raised families and paid their tax and national insurance with the expectation that they would be financially secure when reaching 60. It is not the pension age itself that is in dispute – it is widely accepted that women and men should retire at the same time.
“The issue is that the rise in the women’s state pension age has been too rapid and has happened without sufficient notice being given to the women affected, leaving them with no time to make alternative arrangements.
“The council requests that the chief executive write letters of support to the prime minister, the secretary of state for DWP (David Gauke) and the pensions minister (Guy Opperman) to advise them of the adverse effects that these changes to the SPA is having on women living in [OUR COUNCIL AREA] who were born on or after 6 April 1951.”
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Our thanks to Cllr Heather Kidd and Cllr Jon Hubbard for sharing this motion with us.