Are you a 1950s lady fighting the state pension injustice?

Well said Marie. Hope you have signed the petition and will be watching the debate on Feb 1st

Well said Sue, good to find another fellow WASP on here. Let's keep at them.

No-one is arguing with the equalisation Phil, but don't forget that these women did not benefit from the protective legislation regarding pay and employment rights that is enjoyed by younger working women now. Often they were not even allowed to join company pension schemes if they were married! Incredible yes?

I think it is unlikely that most women retired at 60 'on full pensiuon'' as enforced career breaks to have a family, the need to take low-paid jobs and caring responsibilities would have meant that this was often not acheived.

The argument is not about equality however, but about the fact that the goal-posts have been moved twice, with no notice or information - thus leaving this age-group of women, many of whom have no other income, possibly with few savings, with a shortfall which cannot be made up and no time to make alternative plans.

If you read/watch the arguments you will see that the government is legally obliged to give adequate notice of any chages (10 -15 years I think) - this was not done, leaving many women in hardship now.

I think most of these women would be content if all they had to be concerned about was tennis player's pay.

Hi Di, that's terrible. I am similar to you - aged 59, pension at 66. I have 33 qualifying years, which would have been fine before this latest change. The goalposts keep on moving - for people who are least equipped to deal with it. Hope you are supporting the WASPI campaign and will be tuned in for the debate on Feb 1st. Please like my page on Facebook and I will try and keep it updated with the latest developments - good place to have a moan as well when you feel the need.

Totally agree, I think they are expecting us to go away quietly - but there are a growing number of us who are not prepared to do that. He is, as you say, at best badly briefed and at worse - well let's not go there.

Thanks so much for helping me spread the word Sand - very comprehensive summing up. Any chance you could post something inspirational on my page 1950s Ladies in France from time to time, as I am struggling with the tweeting, replying on here and managing the page. Or, if you are a busy lady could I at least cut and paste what you have written here?? :)

Thank you Hilary. I suppose you would be classed as one of the lucky ones - but you don't get the new increased pension I presume so another injustice has been done to you as well as the delay. I hope you will take the time to go to my page and sign the petition in support of those of us with another 6 years to wait. Thank you.

I agree, Phil. The inequality had to be addressed. No special pleading here - men and women should retire at the same age. The problem for me is the way in which it has been implemented, the time scale, and the total lack of communication.

No one would argue that the ages should not be equalised-it's the way it was done. There was notice of the first change but very little of the second and as pther people have said choice and changes had already been made that couldn't be changed either due to personal circumstances or financial considerations. Like many here I was born in 1954 and will be 65+ when I become eligable for my pension.

Thanks for that explanation Sue. Seems to make sense. Just further proof - if indeed any is needed - of how these people economise on the truth.

I was born in '52 & I had to wait until I was 62 1/2 for my pension. Fortunately, as a retired teacher, I received my teacher’s pension the day I turned 60! I really feel for those ladies,not much younger than me, having to wait until they’re 66! It’s disgraceful!

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Surely the injustice that existed for decades was that men who generally die younger than women could not draw their pension until age 65 whereas women could retire at 60 on a full pension. This seems to me to be a case of simply rectifying an old injustice.

I support the women's equality ideal but it has to be even-handed. Another "injustice" I find irritating is the equal pay for women tennis players when they only have to compete for 60% of the time compared to the men's game.

I have no problem whatsoever with equalising retirement age for men and women, and certainly don't make the argument that women are in any way less likely to be able to work after 60 than men. My grouse is the way in which it has been done, and the lack of communication. I was aware of the first increase in my retirement age from 60 to 63 years and 7 months SOLELY because I worked for DWP! At no time did I receive an individual communication. Neither have I ever been advised of the second increase,which in my case will be to 64 years, 11 months and 30 days - not 65 years, note! So if anyone had 6 years notice of the 2011 increase, they were very fortunate. I have spoken to some of my colleagues in DWP and I have yet to find ONE who has received any notification. I understand that DWP are refusing to check what notifications were allegedly issued because of the cost?

I took early retirement based on the retirement age I was aware of and had calculated that I could fund the gap. However, for the second increase in retirement age, I received no notification whatsoever. DWP are well aware of my address, and HMRC are very happy to deduct tax from my income every month,so I think they could "find" me if they wanted to! Furthermore, although there is a sliding scale to calculate the increase in retirement age, it hasn't been fairly applied. My work colleague is 11 weeks older than me, but will receive her state pension exactly one YEAR earlier than me.

Also galling is the increase in qualifying years from 30 to 35. Again, this was introduced when many people had already taken decisions which made it impossible to make up the additional 5 years contributions or were too close to retirement to do so.

Sadly we will hear about the plight of young people unable to find work, rather than the jobs which could be available if the over 60s were not obliged to remain in work - a bit like NHS bed blocking!

Think the WASPI ladies deserve a big "thank you and well done" for running an effective and dignified campaign against this injustice.

I think most of us agree with the equalisation of retirement age - that is only fair in these days of equality, the problem lies with the fact that we did not have notice that the age had been hiked twice, so many like myself (born 54) had assumed that we would be in receipt of our pension at 60 and did not have time to prepare for the change. We have now to fill in a 6 year gap with no notice! (in my case I found out about it shortly before my 60th that I would be 62 - it’s been changed again since and I'll now be 66)

The petition campaigning for a fair transition can still be signed at: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/110776

We can also still tweet ladies, share the WASPI updates on Facebook (facebook.com/WASPI-Women-Against-State-Pension-Inequality-Campaign) and we can also make representation to our MP (for the last place we lived in the UK) if we have been in France for less than 15years. This is particularly important if your MP is Conservative as it was particularly noticeable during the debate initiated by Mhairi Black that these MPs (those who could be bothered to attend) were following the party line with the exception of the very supportive Tim Loughton who has done a great job for WASPI.

Let's not let down the WASPI ladies who have campaigned long and hard on our behalf, the more we can do before the February 1st debate to support their efforts the better chance we have of this being resolved.

The reason David Cameron is stating that 18 months is the longest anyone will have to wait is because the changes made in 2011 added 'up to' an extra 18 months on what had been decided already in the 1995 pension act. The Government had already stated that changes would be made way back then and that the changes would be implemented between 2010 and 2020. They refuse to ackowledge that they did not advertise the changes well enough and that is why they do not accept anyone is waiting 6 years. I was lucky. I knew in 1995 that I would have to work until I was 63 years and 8 months. Maybe I was just listening to the news at the right time or read it in the paper. It's so long ago I dont remember how I heard about it but I do know that nobody has ever written to me about it - even in the last four years. No communication whatsoever. I got my first new state pension age from the direct gov website. When I took voluntary redundancy at the end of 2010 ( rather forced due to public spending cuts), I did so based on my finances lasting until I was 63. The double whammy came five months later when I found out that my retirement age had now been postponed until 2 weeks shy of my 65 birthday ( a 16 month extention to the original date). This is the bit which has made me give my full support to the Waspi campaign. I was given 18 years notice that 60 would not be my retirement age but only 6 years for the second change. Not acceptable in my book. Particularly when people are at an age when they may not be fit for work anymore. To think that people in their 60's can just make it back into the work place because the Government decide they can wait longer for their pensions is ridiculous.

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I'm right at the end of the new sliding scale for retirement- literally the last day. So 66 for me too. Even more disconcerting is the fact that I now need 35 years NI contribution instead of 30. I had 29 qualifying years when I retired and was going to buy the extra year. It appears that I am now 6 years short. Plus, as teachers' pensions are classed as an 'opted out' pension I won't get the full state pension anyway. At least we were the lucky generation who had a final salary pension. State pension rules may well change again before I reach 66 so won't buy any more years just yet!

"David Cameron seems to think that 18 months is the longest anyone will have to wait for their pension - he said so in answer to a question at PMQs this week"

Yes, outrageous. Just goes to prove the rich boys running the UK haven't a clue at best or even worse - don't care a jot about this social injustice. Still, I guess SamCam is well provided for and he has his copper bottomed pension to look forward to when he leaves Parliament (at whatever age) so why should he be bothered?

My OH fired off an email to our Conservative MP (we retain the right to vote in his constituency until our 15 years is up) right after PMQ's last Wednesday to ask if the PM had misled the questioner (the Labour spokesperson for the Aged) and the House in his reply... Guess what, not a peep in response!

They couldn't care a monkeys. What a disgusting bunch of ignoramuses.

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I'm a 1950s lady, who signed the petition and had a reply saying that this will be debated in the Commons. I am having to wait until I am 66 to get a pension, having been born in 1957. So unfair.

Try not to lose hope, a lot of people are working hard to get some justice. Are you following the WASPI campaign? Please look at my Facebook page '1950s ladies in France' and have your say. I also try and post all the relevant new developments and articles.

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I'm afraid you may be right. So sorry :(