Backto60

If the WASPI women had been prepared for some kind of compromise involving an interim Pension Credit or reversing some of the changes to Universal Credit, which means they have to work longer hours, they might have stood a better chance of success.

However, means testing would have meant most of the organisers wouldn't have gained anything because they are quite wealthy in their own right and don't actually need the money. In any case, women born in the 1960s or later wouldn't have seen any benefit from the court action.

As my username suggests I was born in 1954, I miss getting my state pension this year by 13 days, will be 66 before I can think about retiring
I thank all that is holy that I am still well enough to continue working and acknowledge that many are not so lucky

The women behind WASPI and Backto60 are professional, educated women. Maybe if they hadn't been so greedy and accepted means-tested interim payments and a reversal to the conditionality for Universal Credit, they would have been more successful.

It only takes a few minutes to listen to the news. Sorry, but it's about time people became more aware of announcements in the budget and elsewhere.

growstuff that should be

I was never informed and was too busy working to listen to budget speeches growmore

Hopefully, people will listen to budget announcements a bit more carefully in future.

Fair enough!

The unfairest change was the 2014 Act, which accelerated changes by 8 years. This affected both men and women.

IMO the WASPI women fought the wrong fight.

Yes I do know that growstuff I was just saying .

The 2011 increase affected both men and women, so how was it discriminatory?

vena That's not an issue for pensions. It's an issue which affects everybody of any age who suffers from ill health. The truth is that sickness and unemployment benefits are ridiculously low. That's the battle which people should have been fighting.

If somebody (male or female) between the ages of 60 and 66/67 is too ill to work, he/she should be able to claim some kind of sickness benefit until pension age.

It's disappointing, but I wasn't honestly expecting anything from this. I'm a member of WASPI, which is campaigning for a bridging payment to help the women most affected by the very steep hike to the state pension age, and the lack of appropriate notification. The Back to 60s group's aim of reversing the state pension age is unachievable, imho, but I certainly wished them well in the legal challenge. I was hoping against hope that the second hike in 2011 might have been deemed discriminatory. I'd have been getting my pension next week, instead of having another 15 months to go to my 66th birthday.

The pension age has to be equalised, no doubt about it, but other countries have managed to do it gradually and with plenty of advance notice. George Osborne is on record as saying that this was easy money. While some women are really suffering. Says it all, really.

I must say the air was a bit blue round here when I read on the BBC News website that the court has ruled that the rise in SPA corrects historic direct discrimination against men. What about the historic direct discrimination against women that we have all lived with? Is that going to be corrected?

Perhaps that will be a whole new court case......

I had no idea this was happening until I was 58 and then I took ill at 62 luckly I worked for the council in education and I was paid for the first 6 mouths then I went back to work for 6months after my treatment finished but had to retire 8 months before my pension started, I was one of the lucky ones and got my pension last year others are still struggling going to work through ill health.

It wouldn't matter if it were all men or all women. The people making these decisions are never affected by the outcome are they ?

was it all men at the hearing

What I don't understand is why there weren't protests in 2011 when the new pension ages for men and women were announced, just as there was pressure on the government, when there were proposals a few years ago to change National Insurance for the self-employed and to change the funding of social care for the elderly. In both cases the government backtracked. Didn't people realise what was going on?

The thing is though no matter how much time anyone has, you still have to have the financial means to plan. My DH and I lost the private pensions we had quite a few years ago during the financial crisis when one of our customers went bust on us. Since then I have rarely had a steady enough income and relied solely on my state pension which I thought would come at 60 (my DH and I have an 11 year age gap) . It turns out now that my pension age is 67+

I remember in mid nineties, my boss telling me that the retirement age was going up to 65 and I’d be affected but it was 25 years away so I did have time to plan for that. The subsequent increase in 2010 of another year to 66 was a bigger deal as I had less time to make up that money.

I’ve been fortunate in having the means & circumstances to retire early regardless but have quite a few friends not as lucky and they’re struggling to cope with ageing parents, grandchildren and their own ill health. They could have done with a good result today.

I think it's a disgrace. Though I didn't come under this as I was born in 1940 I do feel for those who worked hard-----for nothing ! Any savings etc will have diminished through rising costs etc and now this result ! It'll be years again before this is brought to the fore----purposely of course, if you get my drift.

Government and pensions/pensioners don't mix !!

Sorry I didn't realise there were 2 threads so just copied over.

I was born in 1962 so won't get a state pension until I am over 67 years old. I don't think the decision would have benefitted me in any way, but I am truly gutted for those who might have had their pensions backdated or their retirement brought forward. Not in the slightest bit surprised though.

Yes urmstongran just saw that one too. Such a shame after all their hard work, hats off to the ladies for their determination in getting it this far

No probs vena11 - shows we were both on the ball .... I see Poppyred is too!
?

No point in an appeal in my opinion. Time to ‘let it go’ sadly.
Thanks Cleggie.

Sorry Urmstongran we must have been doing it at the same time .

Lets hope so, I have my pension now after waiting an extra 5 years . I agree women should work the same as men but the government did paused it in all wrong.Anyway its all been said before.