Speaking to the Annual Delegate Meeting in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, Paddy Lillis – Usdaw’s General Secretary Elect said: “Hundreds of thousands of women born in the 1950s were left with no notice that their state pension age would change. Without knowing this, many women took irreversible decisions, such as early retirement and voluntary redundancy. This has put them and their families under financial pressure, struggling to find sufficient income to cover this gap.
 
“It is not an exaggeration to say that some women have had their retirement plans shattered. Many have had to seek employment again to cover this gap, starting over in new jobs at a time when they should have been enjoying their retirement.
 
“It's important to recognise that the campaign is not asking for the retirement age to be lowered to 60. What they are asking for is a bridging pension to provide an income until the women affected reach the state pension age and for compensation for those women who have now reached the state pension age but were affected by the changes in 2010.
 
“The Union supports the WASPI women and their campaign. Our Pensions Section has supported affected members with information and advice. We have supported the all-party parliamentary group led by Carolyn Harris MP and have highlighted the work of the WASPI Campaign on our website. We believe this is an injustice that the Government needs to correct before time runs out.
 
“We all want fair pensions that provide security for our members. We all believe that a long and healthy retirement is a right that working people have fought for, and should not be a privilege that only the wealthy can afford.”
 
Notes for editors:
 
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 28% over the decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
 
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion