An online petition started this week, which calls for fairer transitional state pension arrangements (SPA) for women born in the 1950s, has already attracted a whopping 54,313 signatures.
Of those, 173 signatures come from the Isle of Wight. However, according to a campaign group, there are 10,000 women on the Isle of Wight who will be affected by the changes and are perhaps unaware of them.
Unexpected further six year wait
Women affected by the SPA changes have been forced to wait up to an extra six years for their state pension, losing as much as £46,000 in the process.
The latest petition reads,
“That this Government without delay recognises the need for a non-means tested bridging pension for women born on or after 6/4/1950 who are affected by the 1995 and 2011 Pension Acts and compensate those at risk of losing up to around £45,000, to also give proper notification for any future changes.
“The 1995 Conservative Government’s Pension Act included plans to increase women’s SPA to 65, the same as men’s. Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), agree with equalisation, but don’t agree with the unfair way the changes were implemented – with little/no personal notice (1995/2011 Pension Acts), faster than promised (2011 Pension Act), and no time to make alternative plans. Retirement plans have been shattered with devastating consequences.”
If you could like to support the petition, you can sign it via the official parliament Website.
If you do sign the petition, don’t forget to check your email afterwards and respond to the automated email validating your address.
WASPI campaign
A campaign group – Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) – are encouraging women on the Island, and on the mainland, to take action against the proposals by lodging a complaint with the Department for Work and Pensions regarding pension maladministration.
They say that by doing this you will be helping to address this pension injustice and alleviate the hardship and distress it has caused for many 1950s women and their families.
If you would like to join the Solent WASPI group, or to find out more, please email [email protected].
You can find Solent WASPI Supporters’ Group on Facebook or follow them on Twitter
@solent_waspi
For information about the national campaign, please visit the WASPI Website
Image: torontohistory under CC BY 2.0
