Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will (a) review and (b) slow down the rate of increase in pensionable age for women.

Justin Tomlinson

The State Pension age changes, which were made to put pensions on a more financially sustainable footing given increases in life expectancy, were fully debated and voted on when the legislation was before Parliament.

During the Pensions Act 2011 a concession, worth £1.1 billion, was introduced to limit the impact of the rising State Pension age on those women most affected. These transitional arrangements capped the maximum delay at 18 months rather than two years, relative to the previous timetable.

Unwinding any of these changes means asking young people to assume more of the cost, and after they’ve already borne their fair share of the tough decisions made last Parliament to bring Government spending under control.

Therefore, the Secretary of State is clear that there are no plans to bring forward further concessions or changes.