New state pension unfair to women
18/01/2015
The new state pension, which from April will replace basic and additional pensions for people reaching retirement age, has been accused of being unduly harsh to women by a group of MPs.
Under the new regulations, anyone with less than 10 years National Insurance (NI) contributions will not qualify for the state pension at all. This will have a detrimental effect on women who have been housewives for most of their lives but did not qualify for NI credits. The new state pension rules also mean that married women (or men) will no longer be able to claim their spouse’s pension after their death.
As well as these changes, the work and pensions select committee believe that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to tell women born in the 1950s that they would lose their right to a state pension at age 60 in good time. The issue will now be debated in parliament.
MP Frank Field, chair of the work and pensions select committee, said:
“Successive governments have bungled the fundamental duty to tell women of these major changes to when they can expect their state pension. Retirement expectations have been smashed, as some women have only been told a couple of years before the date they expected to retire that no such retirement pension is now available.
“We are also concerned about the accuracy of existing information that is being sent out to women about their state pension entitlement. Groups representing this grotesquely disadvantaged group of women have suggested a pension entitlement notice. And so have other experts who have given evidence to the committee.”
Need Financial Advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
Public sector pensions back in the spotlight
The UK government has today announced a new measurement which will be used to increase public sector pension payments year on year to allow them to cover the ongoing increase in the cost of living. Instead all using the retail price index to increase the value of pension payments year on year, the government will be using the consumer price index which does not include housing costs and is therefo...
Read MorePension fund deficits continue to rise
It has been revealed that the U.K.'s top 200 pension schemes are in deficit to the tune of £100 billion. While there has been intense speculation over the last few weeks regarding the size of pension scheme deficits in the UK, the fact that the £100 billion figure has been breached for the first time ever is a massive blow to the sector. Even though there are obviously enormous implications f...
Read MoreIs Your Final Salary Pension Scheme Secure?
As the number of firms taking new entrants to their final salary pension schemes continues to diminish there are concerns that even those with a place in existing final salary pension schemes may not be as secure as they first thought. While the pension fund operations of a company and the day to day finances of business are ring fenced to offer some degree of protection, there are a number of sc...
Read MoreFewer than expected opting out of pension schemes
30/09/2013 Reports are suggesting that fewer people are choosing to opt out of automatic pension enrollment schemes than what was originally expected. Whilst the government initially indicated that they expected around a third of workers to opt out of the scheme, the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) found that 9% of employees chose to leave their automatic pension schemes. The Nat...
Read MoreCould you be forced to retire with no pension?
Yesterday the UK government announced plans to increase the retirement age for men to 66 by 2016 with women following suit by 2020. However, there is a growing concern that many employees could find themselves forced into retirement prior to their 66th birthday which could see them out of a job but with no state pension. A number of experts have mentioned the construction industry as a potentia...
Read More