David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State for Work and Pensions of 23 November 2015, Official Report, column 467HL, what the evidential basis is for her statement that most of the women affected by state pension equalisation have accepted this.

Justin Tomlinson

My noble friend, the Minister for Pensions, engages regularly with older workers, employers and other stakeholders. The Minister for Pensions was summarising from her frequent discussions with these groups.

All women affected by faster equalisation will reach State Pension age after the introduction of the new State Pension. Around 650,000 women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years will receive an average of £8 per week (in 2014/15 earnings terms) more due to the new State Pension valuation of their National Insurance record.

Equalisation of the State Pension age was necessary under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities in welfare provision.