Thank you for contacting me about changes to the State Pension age (SPa). When the contributory State Pension was introduced in the 1940s, it had a differential SPa – 65 for men and 60 for women. In 1993, the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kenneth Clarke, announced that the Government would equalise the SPa at 65. This change would be phased in over ten years, starting in 2010.
In 2011, to ensure the sustainability of the State Pension system, the Coalition Government accelerated the equalisation of the SPa and pledged to raise the SPa to 66. This meant that the SPa for women would reach 65 in November 2018, and the increase from 65 to 66 would happen by October 2020.
While I appreciate your concerns about the equalisation of the SPa, had the Government not equalised the State Pension age, women who would be retiring today upon reaching the age of 60 would, on average, spend over 40 per cent of their adult lives in receipt of State Pension. These changes, made by Parliament after extensive debates, were about maintaining the right balance between sustainability of the State Pension, fairness between generations, and ensuring a dignified retirement in later life.
Moreover, while I note concerns about the communication of SPa changes, it is important to note that the High Court (2019) and the Court of Appeal (2020) found no fault with the actions of the Department for Work and Pensions. The courts made it clear that under successive Governments dating back to 1995, the action taken was entirely lawful and did not discriminate on any grounds. During these proceedings, the Court of Appeal held that the High Court was entitled to conclude as a fact that there had been “adequate and reasonable notification given by the publicity campaigns implemented by the Department over a number of years.”
I am aware that the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has published its report on the SPa communications. It is important to note that the Ombudsman’s investigation did not consider the decisions to equalise and increase the SPa, but rather how the decisions were communicated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). As the Secretary of State said in his statement, the Government will carefully consider the findings before providing a further update. However, I welcome that the Ombudsman did not find that 1950s-born women have suffered direct financial loss.
I welcome the Government’s strong track record of protecting pensioners' incomes. Since 2010, there 400,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty and pensioners are now the group least likely to be living in poverty. To deliver on the promise to provide dignity in retirement, the Government has maintained the Triple Lock in full for 2024-25. This means that on 6 April, the basic State Pension, new State Pension and Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee were uprated in line with September 2023 average earnings growth - 8.5 per cent.
10/04/2024