Baby in the 1950s

Around 1,500 women on the Isle of Wight affected by changes to state pensions

As reported by OnTheWight back in November 2015, a campaign spearheaded by five women through the action group, Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), has been calling for “fair transitional state pension arrangements for women born in the 1950s”.

An online petition was launched and at time of publishing this article, had attracted a massive 193,186 signatures.

Full council motion
Later this week, at the Isle of Wight fill council meeting, members will be asked to consider a motion by Cllr Geoff Lumley related to the campaign.

He estimates that at least 1,500 women on the Isle of Wight will be affected by the changes.

He told OnTheWight,

“The increase to the State Pension age for women particularly affects those women born between April 1953 and April 1955, who have been hit twice – a transitional rise to 65 and then halfway through the transition, to 66.

“Quite a number of women in that age group have mentioned this to me, both in my ward and elsewhere.”

The motion reads,

Given the significant impact on a number of Island residents the Council calls upon the Government to make fair transitional state pension arrangements for all women born on or after 6 April 1951, who have unfairly borne the burden of the increase to the State Pension Age (SPA) with lack of appropriate notification

Image: drregor under CC BY 2.0