Losing half your state pension not far away.

[Robin-H]

My parents retired quite recently. My Dad has already reached state pension age and is claiming it.

They're perfectly comfortable, but they had (until a few years ago when things changed) an expectation that in 4 more years (2 years from now) my mum's state pension would also start. This would just provide them with increased income for holidays or presents or whatever.

Then that was changed and it got 5 years further away.

Then it was changed again and it got another year away, then another...

 

They weren't ever relying on the state pension, but you can see why my Mum might feel somewhat aggrieved at the way the changes were handled.

And if they hadn't been prudent and made provisions for themselves my Mum would have found herself in the odd position of working longer than my Dad to claim the same pension, just because she was a few years younger...

 

I must be missing something.

 

You say that they had expected that your Mum’s state pension would begin in 4 years (2 years ago). Within those two years, it was delayed by a year. Then you say it was changed again, and then changed again.

 

As far as I understood, the change to pension age for women was announced to rise gradually to 65 between 2010-2020 in 1995. In 2011 it was announced this would increase to 66 by 2020.

 

Your parents would have known your Mum’s state pension age in 1995. It increased by one year in 2011. It hasn’t increased 3 times within the last two years..

[Cyclone]

You're correct, the change was made in 1995.

Then accelerated in 2011, it was this change that caused the large disadvantage to women born in the 1950's.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/letters/state-pension-age-women-plan-arrangements-retirement-1950s-government-cuts-a8543281.html

 

Lots of examples here.

[Robin-H]

You're correct, the change was made in 1995.

Then accelerated in 2011, it was this change that caused the large disadvantage to women born in the 1950's.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/letters/state-pension-age-women-plan-arrangements-retirement-1950s-government-cuts-a8543281.html

 

Lots of examples here.

 

Lots of examples yes, but they all seem to make out that the change to the pension age from 60 - 66 happened without warning, and people who expected to retire at 60 were suddenly told their retirement age was actually 66.

 

Perhaps it should have been communicated better, but that isn’t the case. They should have known their retirement age in 1995, which then would have increased by a year in 2011.

[nightrider]

And your problem is? ..

If you paid the full 35 years into the state pension you are entitled to full state pension.

If not, you are entitled to a pension for the number of years paid in.

You then claim a private pension for the years "contracted out".

 

I'm not complaining. Just stating that is the case, in reply to someone claiming it is not.

[Janus]

Well before the 2008 financial problems and the austerity that followed, I always felt there was injustice.

 

The knowledge that men tended to die at a younger age than women, yet their retirement age was 5 years longer. That was so unjust, in the same way that paying women less than men to do the same job was unjust. It seemed quite unfair in both examples. Probably a topic for a different thread though.

Edited November 1, 2018 by Janus

[Cyclone]

Lots of examples yes, but they all seem to make out that the change to the pension age from 60 - 66 happened without warning, and people who expected to retire at 60 were suddenly told their retirement age was actually 66.

 

Perhaps it should have been communicated better, but that isn’t the case. They should have known their retirement age in 1995, which then would have increased by a year in 2011.

 

Should have known. Yet it seems to be quite well established that the government failed to communicate the details, or indeed sometimes any information at all...

 

" Research has shown many women weren’t aware they were affected." - http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7405

Edited November 1, 2018 by Cyclone

[bendix]

My parents retired quite recently. My Dad has already reached state pension age and is claiming it.

They're perfectly comfortable, but they had (until a few years ago when things changed) an expectation that in 4 more years (2 years from now) my mum's state pension would also start. This would just provide them with increased income for holidays or presents or whatever.

Then that was changed and it got 5 years further away.

Then it was changed again and it got another year away, then another...

 

They weren't ever relying on the state pension, but you can see why my Mum might feel somewhat aggrieved at the way the changes were handled.

And if they hadn't been prudent and made provisions for themselves my Mum would have found herself in the odd position of working longer than my Dad to claim the same pension, just because she was a few years younger...

 

 

 

This is utter tosh. Changes to the age when you qualify for a pension are flagged many many years in advance.

 

This is widely communicated via news media, pensions sites and letters to the inviduals concerned.

[Cyclone]

Well, perhaps all those women who claim they were never contacted are lying then.

Perhaps the media reporting it are all in on it as well.

Perhaps the parliamentary report that concluded that "many women weren't aware" was itself flawed and you knew better?

[bendix]

Well, perhaps all those women who claim they were never contacted are lying then.

Perhaps the media reporting it are all in on it as well.

Perhaps the parliamentary report that concluded that "many women weren't aware" was itself flawed and you knew better?

 

 

With respect, the law changes you are talking about was first part of the Pensions Act 1995, and was sped up by further legislation enacted in 2011, signalled in the 2010 Tory Party Manifesto. That is hardly no notice. There was also an extensive communication campaign involving advertising, notifications, information on pensions websites and personal letters. It is all detailed here.

 

http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7405/CBP-7405.pdf

 

If people still didn't know about it it is because no matter how hard you try to engage with many people, they are just not interested (at best) or wilfully ignorant (at worst) of pension issues. What would have have happen: Is it necessary for someone to knock on everyone's door, sit them down in front of you with a cup of tea, turn the tv off for a minute, and say 'now, about your pension age.'?

 

You can't legislate for dumb and indifferent.

Edited November 2, 2018 by bendix

[Cyclone]

And yet the parliamentary report concluded that many women were unaware of the changes.

 

There appears to have been a failure to contact many of the women affected.