Proposals to increase the state pension age for women to 66 by 2020 have unfair and disproportionate consequences for a significant number of women says Ros Altmann, director-general of Saga.
Altmann says women in their 50s do not have enough time to make up for the lost pension income they have been expecting. The increase in the state pension age for women to 65 has been accelerated, and will rise to 66 by 2020. Saga calculates that about half a million women will be affected adversely. “These women were told, some years ago, that their pension age would increase from 60 to around 63 or 64. They accepted this change without fuss and set about planning their finances in anticipation of receiving their state pensions later than previously expected. The Government announced these plans unexpectedly. Its paper explaining this decision concedes that women will not have time to plan, but still asserts that the change is not disproportionate.”