Pension reform bill to get second reading
The coalition government has won a parliamentary vote to raise the state pension age for women to 66 by the year 2020 but has promised to consider “transitional” arrangements for women who are most affected by the reforms.
The coalition plans to increase the pace of pension reforms that were introduced by the previous Labour government. The state pension age will be increased from 60 to 65 for women by 2018 before it is raised again to 66 for both men and women in 2020.
Despite a rebellion by MPs of all parties the coalition won a vote to give the bill a second reading by 302 votes to 232.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said in the debate that the government was not prepared to back down over its commitment to amending the state pension age for women by 2018 but that he was willing to think again about transitional arrangements for women most affected.
330,000 women in their fifties will have to delay receiving their state pension for between 18 months and two years, many of whom will receive just five years notice to the change in their pension arrangements.
Dr Ros Altmann, director general of Saga and a former adviser to the government on pensions has urged the government to think again. She said: “Saga believes people need fair notice of future changes, giving them reasonable time to prepare. The current proposals do not do this. Six years' notice of up to a two year delay in pension age clearly does not provide time to make alternative arrangements.”
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