YESTERDAY evening hundreds of women from across the Stroud district gathered to discuss changes in the pension age and how it was affecting them and their families
The event, which was chaired by Stroud Labour MP David Drew and held in conjunction with the Stroud district WASPI group, (Women Against State Pension Inequality), was so well attended that audience members were forced to sit in the aisles
David Drew had written to over 5,000 women across the district who may be affected by the pension changes inviting them to the meeting at St Laurence Church, and received an overwhelming response.
Queues into the church stretched down through The Shambles, and around 500 women inside the building listened intently, although it was standing room only.
Over 5000 women from across the district were invited, and queues reached back into Stroud High Street
Changes to women’s pension ages have been speeded up after a parliamentary act in 2011, leaving women born in the 1950s little time to prepare for their financial future.
In some cases, women are now having to work up to six more years before they are eligible for their state pension, and are thousands of pounds worse off.
Cheryl Butterworth of Stroud district WASPI group told the packed audience:“Many women are now left in a situation where they are finding it difficult to balance the books. Many women who are over 60 are falling into poverty," she said.
"It’s like having the rug pulled out from under your feet, the changes came too late in our lives and careers for us to be able to deal with the repercussions.”
The WASPI group, supports equalisation of the pension age for men and women, but says the changes have been implemented faster than promised and is calling for a 'bridging' pension to provide an income until State Pension Age for the women who have had no time to make alternative plans.
The event was hosted by Stroud MP David Drew
David Drew MP encouraged women to get involved with the WASPI campaign.
“I was overwhelmed at the response and would like to thank everyone who came along. It was an indication of how much this is disrupting the lives of women and their families, and how little information they have had,” he said.
“The evening was about informing women, but also hearing about how women in Stroud have been affected. A lot of women are suddenly finding they have to wait, four, five or even six years longer to be eligible for a state pension.
Scenes from last night's meeting and an explanation about why the changes are causing women in their 60s to speak out
“It’s a change which hits lower paid women and manual workers particularly hard and we’ve seen a big rise in the numbers of women forced to claim other benefits. Nationally, the number of women aged over 60 claiming Employment Support Allowance has increased by 400 per cent from August 2013 to August 2017.
“We want to gather the evidence of the real hardship this is causing and present it to government, to demonstrate that it has to act.”
Women’s state pension age was changed from 60 to 65 in the Pensions Act 1995. The ages were increased again and accelerated after a parliamentary act in 2011, leaving women born in the 1950s little time to prepare for their financial future.
A bill calling for a review of women’s arrangements and a compensation scheme has been presented by the All Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women and is scheduled to have its Second Reading on 15 June 2018.
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