The Government's pension reform

Written evidence submitted by Elizabeth Cranmer

1. My date of birth is 12th May 1954. I am unfairly affected by the proposed increase in the State Pension Age for Women.

2. The Women’s pension age was set to gradually rise to 65(same as men) under 1995 Legislation by April 2020.

3. Government now proposes men and women to retire at 66 by April 2020.

4. This has occurred at very short notice and in my case this amounts to seven years warning that I will now reach the proposed State Pension Age 22 months later than all my financial planning had been based on.

5. No man has an increase in pension age of more than 12 months.

6. 500,000 women have an increase of more than 12 months.

7. The Government claims this is not discriminatory as the key issue is equalising the state pension age for men and women. This is stated as an opinion (not fact) that the "impact is not disproportionate". There is no argument or evidence to support this contention.

8. I maintain this is discriminatory and could be avoided by adding a proviso to the proposed Legislation that no woman should have an increase in excess of 12 months.

9. There is no justification, other than financial expediency, to accelerate the process for women, which would still be achieved by 2021 if the maximum increase was limited to 12 months. This cannot outweigh the injustice which has been proposed by adopting a process and timescale for equalisation which unfairly discriminates against women.

10. I would urge the Select Committee to recommend that the proposed Legislation is amended to limit the maximum increase in pension age for any woman to 12 months.

February 2011