Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury's oral contribution of 22 June 2021, Official Report, column 745, what recent assessment she has made of state pension inequality in respect of the ongoing Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigation and women born in the 1950s.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All Ombudsman are independent of government. It would be inappropriate to comment while the PHSO investigation is ongoing.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions her Department has had with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality group on the effectiveness of her Department's communication of changes to women's state pension age.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There have been no recent discussions with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality group.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of women affected by changes to the state pension age, in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Yorkshire and Humber and (c) the UK in each year until 2029-30.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Labour Government 1997-2010, the Coalition 2010-2015 and the Conservative Government of 1992-1997 have taken a similar approach to raising State Pension age. As you are aware, from the 1940s until April 2010, the State Pension age was 60 for women and 65 for men. The decision to equalise the State Pension age for men and women dates back to 1995 and addresses a longstanding inequality between men and women's State Pension age. Without equalisation, women who reach the age of 60 in 2019 would be expected to spend over 40 per cent of their adult lives in receipt of State Pension, on average. Changes to the State Pension age put right a long lasting inequality which was based on an outdated rationale that women were dependent on their husband's incomes.
Further changes were recommended by the Pensions Commission in 2005 as it became clear that things were changing, for example, life expectancy was increasing and a State Pension age fixed at age 65 was not sustainable or fair between generations. It recommended that in the future State Pension age should increase in line with life expectancy and also recommended the introduction of a State Pension age timetable that reflected this.
The 2010 to 2015 Government made the decision to bring in changes to the State Pension age, following extensive debates in both Houses of Parliament. The 2011 Pensions Act accelerated the equalisation of women's State Pension age by 18 months and brought forward the increase in men and women's State Pension age to 66 by five and a half years, relative to the previous timetables.
Women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1953 were affected by State Pension age equalisation under the Pensions Act 1995. The Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the equalisation of State Pension age, and included transitional arrangements limiting State Pension age delays, affecting women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953. It also brought forward the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 which affected women born between 6 December 1953 and 5 April 1960.
The Department for Work and Pensions only holds estimates at a Great Britain level. The latest estimates are that 4.84 million women in Great Britain are affected by the changes to the state pension age between 2010/11 and 2029/30 (rounded to the nearest 10,000). The figures are based on DWP calculations using the 2018-based ONS population projections. These estimates are the numbers reaching State Pension age, and are not necessarily the same as the number of new claims for State Pension.
A detailed breakdown of the overall 4.84 million figure is provided per tax year in the Table 1 below:
Table 1 – Number of women in Great Britain affected by SPA reforms between 2010/11 and 2029/30, Source: DWP calculations using ONS population projections, Rounded to the nearest 1,000
Tax Year | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
No of women | 179,000 | 170,000 | 178,000 | 166,000 | 176,000 | 169,000 | 93,000 | 89,000 | 81,000 | 179,000 |
Tax Year | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | 2028/29 | 2029/30 |
No of women | 253,000 | 349,000 | 362,000 | 377,000 | 383,000 | 389,000 | 204,000 | 201,000 | 415,000 | 427,000 |
Information on the numbers affected by UK, constituent country, parliamentary constituency or local authority is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions. However, recent population projections for the UK can be found here:
Population by local area and higher local authorities can be found here:
Population projections by regional area can be found here:
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions Ministers in her Department have had with groups representing women born in the 1950s who have had their state pensions age changed as a result of the Pensions Act 2011 on options for those women to draw their pensions at a reduced rate at 64 years of age.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State has committed to meeting the joint chairs of All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on State Pension inequality for Women.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish a response to Early Day Motion 2390, Pensions for women born in the 1950s.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The approach of Labour, Conservative and the Coalition governments for the last 24 years since the 1995 pensions Act is the same. This Government’s position on the changes to State Pension age (SPa) remains clear and consistent.
We have considered the alternative options offered by stakeholders and found there are substantial practical, financial and legal problems to all alternative options offered by stakeholders so far to mitigate the impact on those affected. During the passage of the 2011 Act, the Government listened to the concerns of those affected and subsequently introduced a concession worth £1.1 billion in order to limit the impact on those women who would be most affected by the changes.
In the years after the 1995 legislation, equalisation was frequently reported in the media and debated at length in Parliament. The changes were communicated in a variety of ways, for example with leaflets, extensive advertising campaigns were carried out and later individual letters were posted out. Throughout this period, the Department has also provided individuals with their most up-to-date State Pension age when they have requested a Pension statement. Between April 2000 and the end of April 2019, the Department provided more than 28 million personalised State Pension statements to people who requested them (either online or by telephone or post). We continue to encourage people to request a personalised State Pension Statement as part of our on-going communications.
This matter has been comprehensively debated on many occasions in Parliament, and any amendment to the current legislation which creates a new inequality between men and women would be highly dubious as a matter of law. The Government has no plans to publish a response to EDM 2390.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a response to EDM 2296 on providing financial restitution to born in the 1950s women.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The approach of Labour, Conservative and the Coalition governments for the last 24 years since the 1995 pensions Act is the same. This Government’s position on the changes to State Pension age (SPa) remains clear and consistent.
The legislative changes to women’s SPa address the longstanding inequalities that had previously existed between men and women’s SPa. If State Pension age had not been equalised, women would be spending over 40 per cent of their adult life in retirement and this proportion would be continuing to increase. Even after equalising women's State Pension age with men's, women will spend on average around two years more in receipt of their State Pension because of their longer life expectancy.
The overall trend in the percentage of pensioners living in poverty is a dramatic fall over several decades. We are forecast to spend over £120 billion on benefits for pensioners, including £99 billion on the State Pension (2019/2020). In 2019/20 we are spending £3.1 billion to increase benefit and pension rates for pensioners.
The welfare system continues to provide a safety-net for those experiencing hardship, including that caused by unemployment, disability, and coping with caring responsibilities which affect those unable to work and therefore most in need in the run up to their State Pension age. Women who have had their State Pension age increased have the same eligibility to working age in-work, out-of-work and disability benefits as a man with the same date of birth.
This matter has been comprehensively debated on many occasions in Parliament, and any amendment to the current legislation which creates a new inequality between men and women would be highly dubious as a matter of law. The Government does not respond to individual EDMs.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will hold discussions with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Women Against State Pension Inequality on transitional state pension arrangements for women born after 1951 in advance of Budget 2018.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work and Pensions has regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.
This issue of transitional state pension arrangements for women born after 1951 has been debated numerous times, during successive governments including the Liberal and Conservative coalition 2010-2015. The Government has no plans to revisit the policy on women’s State Pension age. We do not intend to make further concessions in addition to the transitional arrangements for those adversely affected by the acceleration of increases in State Pension age which have already been made, in 2011 when the Pensions Bill was debated in Parliament.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she last met with representatives of WASPI women.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Since taking up the post, the Secretary of State has had no meetings with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, from what acceptance date the Independent Case Examiner's Office is currently allocating complaints to an investigation case manager.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Independent Case Examiner’s Office is currently allocating complaints to investigation case managers that were accepted for examination between March and May 2017. The time it takes to allocate complaints for investigation has been impacted by the on-going Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) complaints campaign.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of women affected by changes in the state pension age have made an official complaint to the Independent Case Examiner's Office.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We have interpreted this as a question about the number of women who have made a complaint as part of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign. All women born after 6th April 1950 have been affected by the changes in State Pension age. There are estimated to be 3.58 million women affected by the State Pension age changes born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1960 in Great Britain. 3,521 WASPI complaints have been received by the Independent Case Examiner’s Office, therefore around 0.1% of women in the above birth cohort have made an official complaint to the Independent Case Examiner's Office.