Anger against unfair pension treatment of women born in the 1950s has triggered a debate among MPs in the House of Commons.
More than 106,000 people have signed a petition objecting to pension rules that delay some women claiming their state pension for 18 months.
New rules altering the timing of when many women born in the early 1950s can claim their state pension was introduced in 2011.
The changes stem from equalising the statutory pension age for men and women at 65 years old from 2018 and 66 by 2020.
Before this, women could retire with a state pension at 60 years old.
Action group lobbies for state pension changes
An online petition protest was launched by pressure group Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI).
The petition demands the government should put women born after April 1951 affected by the pension age changes in the same financial position they would have had prior to the new rules.
WASPI’s Anne Keen explained the organisation was an action group and that members had put in a lot of hard work to reach the petition trigger and that more lobbying would take place up to the debate.
“We want to make sure MPs know about our campaign and we expect our supporters to contact their MPs and put their case right up to the debate to urge them to vote for our proposal,” she said.
Government stonewalls campaign
WASPI has a Facebook page with more than 14,000 likes, including many expats.
However, the Department of Work and Pensions has stonewalled the protest and insists that whatever the outcome of the debate in Parliament, the current rules will stand.
“This policy decision was aimed at removing inequality between the retirement ages of men and women,” said a spokesman. “Keeping the old rules would cost the government billions.
“This was discussed in Parliament and MPs were aware of all the arguments for and against and no new evidence that merits changing the law has arisen.”
Although the government is lukewarm over state pension age changes, the Pensions Act 2014 demands a review of the age cap against up-to-date life expectancy data. The first review results are expected in May 2017.
born in 1956 worked for 40years thinking I would retire at 60.looked after mam with lung cancer and also dad,then husband had a heart attack,my job in my belief should now be making way for someone younger who may like to work in pharmacy,i have tried to cope the best I can with depression long hours,and finally I thought I was going to get a pension,paid into all of my life,but they changed the goalposts by 6 years,surely this is illegal,our human rights taken away.i hope the new prime minister choses to do something to all of us woman and familys.hank you