Government gives ground on state pension age increases

Date: 28 October 2011

The government has delayed its plans to increase the state pension age to 66 by six months after recognising that their original plans would unfairly impact on women.

Months of hard campaigning by trade unions and age charities saw the government move to limit the impact on women.

Under the original plans more than 30,000 women would be forced to wait two years longer before being able to claim their state pension. 

The latest changes improve the situation but are still massively unfair with hundreds of thousands of women still having to wait 18 months longer to claim their state pension.

Labour MPs had tabled an alternative schedule which would have meant that no women would have to wait for more than a year longer to claim their state pension – bringing them into line with men.  Labour’s amendment was defeated in the House of Commons by 291 votes to 244.

Click here to see an updated table of the latest changes to state pension ages and how they will affect you.