ConorхЪhas again met campaigners battling unjust pension changes that hit women born in the 1950s to reiterate his support for their fight.
He is backing the campaign mounted by Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) against the impact of the coalition and now the Tory government’s move to raise the state pension age for women.
WASPI wants the government to address the unfairness of the decision that means many women born between April 1951 and 1960 could see their pension age suddenly raised by up to six years.
The move to accelerate the rise in pension age has meant many women have not had enough notice of the changes and given them little or no time to amend their plans.
The increase in the state pension age (SPA) for women from 60 to 65 ‰лв phased in between 2010 to 2020 ‰лв was included in the 1995 Pensions Act.хЪ хЪBut in 2011 the Tory-led coalition government speeded up the changes so that the SPA for women will increase to 65 by November 2018. хЪThe pension age for both men and women will then rise to 66 by autumn 2020.
Some women affected by both increases say they will suffer a financial loss of as much as хЃ30,000 because they will have to wait longer for their pension.хЪ Many have complained they were not given enough notice of the changes.
In March, the Works and Pensions Select Committee published a report on the state pension age. Conor joined Labour MPs in welcoming the committee’s call for the government to deal with its mishandling of the changes and the injustice to millions of women.
After meeting WASPI campaigners, Conor said: ‘Talking to those hit by these changes like Barbra and Margaret really brings home just how wrong the government is on this issue.
“For them to be treated like this after a lifetime working and contributing to their pension pot is simply wrong and the government must act.
“I am glad the government is going to instigate an independent review into the future of the state pension age. But it won’t help these women today.
“I would like to see this review also cover what can be done to help the 2.6 million women across the country who will be affected.
“The Pension Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech was a missed opportunity for the government to act.хЪ It must now look again at this issue as a matter of urgency”.