Campaigners have criticised the Department for Work and Pensions in a government committee for failing to communicate the changes to the state pension, particularly to women.
The Work and Pensions Select Committee was told some women were “scared” about the prospect of their retirement because of changes to the state pension age.
Anne Keen, of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign, told the committee she supported the principle of equalisation but said the changes have been introduced too quickly and without any notice.
She said: “Our income has been removed. Two or three years you can probably accept and we do accept equalisation but six years is too long.
“Women are scared of losing their homes. Women in their 60s are being sent from the Jobcentre to C-Tec [training courses], applying for jobs.
“Everybody should be made aware of when they are going to retire. Something has got to be done to improve knowledge and awareness,” commented Ms Keen. “Six in 10 women expected to reach their state pension age earlier than they actually will, and that was in 2012.”
Fellow campaigner Lin Phillips, said: “We definitely know that a lot of people are finding out [about the changes] through us and it should be the DWP’s responsibility.”
State pension rises equalisation for men and women began to take effect in 2010, but George Osborne announced a much quicker schedule than originally planned
This meant the rise to 65 would happen between 2016 and 2018, and then both sexes’ pension age would rise to 66 by 2020 rather than by 2026.
The has gradual rising of the state pension has meant that some women who are currently weeks away from their former state pension age could find themselves months away from their new age.
In addition, data from the DWP showed only 20,000 women out of more than 400,000 claimants will get the full state pension in its first year.
The Waspi campaign has launched a petition, signed by more than 61,000 people, which calls for transitional arrangements for all women born on or after 6 April 1951.
Phil McEvoy, pensions officer at Prospect, said: “I do a lot of pension surgeries around the country and there is still a lot of misunderstanding. There is still a lot of expectation around the £150 a week because that’s what people have been sold, primarily through newspapers.
“Unions go out and talk to members about that, employers telling employees about that and the DWP has probably historically relied on all these bodies providing this information without mandating them to do so.
“The reason we have heard from the ladies [from the Waspi campaign] who talked so eloquently is because of [the government’s] failure to communicate. They never received anything directly from DWP.”
Deborah Cooper, a partner at Mercer, said the DWP should be sending out personalised information regularly. “People do not tend to pay attention to information like pensions.
“There are few pieces of information you need. People drive cars without knowing how they work so they can receive a state pension without understanding how it is calculated.”
