General Chat

I do feel very sorry for the women who suddenly found their pension age moved to 66. I am in the earlier group. I don’t particularly remember being notified of the change made in1995 but I was fully aware that I was going to wait for mine. In fact I had cut out a chart from the newspaper giving me the e act date.

I do wonder about all those who now write to the. Newspapers saying they didn’t know until months before their 60th birthday, why have they just discovered newspapers and why weren’t they aware their colleagues had had their pensions delayed already.

It didn't affect me, I had mine at 60. but, although I don't remember when I knew about it, I was certainly aware.

I suppose there will be a number who never read the papers or listen to the news but I can't believe it is a great number.

Have to admit, as a single mother in 1995, I couldn't afford newspapers!!

However, I do remember a headline on the front of 'The Times' which said women's pension age will rise to 66 IN 2020, and thought it wouldn't affect me , as I was due to retire in 2016. The word 'IN' is important.

I was officially 'informed' when I was 56.

There is another side to this - many official establishents didn't know, either!

In 2002, (aged 45) I looked to buying my council house.
I was told I couldn't get a mortgage it, as, I was informed, I only had 15 years before I retired, and needed a 20 year mortgage.
I have all the paperwork to prove this.

I too didn't read a newspaper in 1995, I was a carer to my mum, had a new baby, little money and no time I don't think I ever saw one full tv news let alone a full programme.

I don't recall seeing anything about it for years after, and too late anyway, though I'll admit life was very fraught at the time. No postal information,I would have remembered, and of course no computer to check. I think that was the main problem had they sent out one leaflet to each household that would probably have led to no case to answer.

Incidentally a point my son made this morning, came up at work, and may be worth thinking about. If a couple were divorcing and the maintenance or lump sum was decided on the basis that the wife would be in receipt of state pension from age 60 and then it was moved to 66 she would be short changed.

I doubt given the length of time to settle other compensation claims, PO, Windrush, HIV blood etc, that anyone will see any money unless they live a very long life!

Going onto the Checker it says my State Pension age increased by 36-42 months, which became payable in July 2016, and that a letter would have been sent in Sept 2008; however the letter should have been sent 40 months earlier! I, like Rose, don't recall receiving any postal information.

My Company Pension became payable when I turned 60 and I suppose that as I neared 60 that is when I started to take an interest in the State Pension. I can remember saying "oh brilliant, they've moved the goal posts" :-(

Eight months after my 60th birthday I retired, 2yr 7mths before my State Pension was payable. My OH had retired at least 5 yrs earlier so with his Pensions and my Company Pension it was doable :-) I can imagine for others, however, that would not have been an option :-(

You’re right, no postal information in 1995. But I must have picked up the information from the news and made sure I bought the newspaper on the day it did it’s money thing, I kept the chart I cut out and was able to tell others their date. I found it again a few years ago - a very crispy cutting.
So I knew from then I would be waiting an extra 11 months.

Now we have Gen Z telling us we shouldn’t be spending our hard earned money on ourselves but handing it over to them. :-P

The only letter I remember getting was one where I was being offered the chance to complete a years NI shortfall where it suggested that that might be the year they reduced the number of years needed down to 30. That didn’t last long!

I also had a letter telling me my NI contributions were short!
This was before I was officially told my pension age would be 66.
It was very confusing.

Oh - and even when I received the letter insisting I owed HMRC money, I had already worked the number of years needed for a full state pension at 60. let alone 66. so didn't need to pay anything.

It’s affected my daughter

She became aware when the changes happened but as she was working it was omg got to work for another year that’s if it lasts that long

She worked for P&O at Dover behind the scenes and was involved in the new computer system they were putting in by testing each new addition to it

But P&O were constantly regrouping and changing and making people redundant

She was finally made redundant in June last year 3 months before her 65th birthday.

Could sign on ,first time ever in all her working life , but she only got a small weekly unemployment benefit for six months

Was expected to apply for jobs too and show she had

She was who wants a 65 year old who officially retires in a few months !!

Needless to say it hasn’t happened,

She was more concerned on being short on her Nat ins credit which determines her state pension

Another thing that wasn’t made clear was that men wouldn’t get their bus pass until their birth date matched with the women’s retirement point. This was for us folks who only get the standard pass, not like the lucky peopke in places like Londonwho get their passes at 60.

I don't remember getting a letter that soon, I only went back to work in 1992 after bringing up my children. However I did hear about the subject somehow, and did my own research.
Worse was the situation in my place of work, where we were told that our works pension was to be delayed for 5 years, and this was just a couple of months before I had planned to take it. However, they did say that if you were in the process of claiming your pension they would honour it, and as I had previously applied for a forecast they agreed to let me take it. I was so lucky with that.

But as discussed on a previous thread, I had been asked if I wanted to top up my NI years, as some were incomplete due to part time work. I calculated the number of years I would need to take me to age 60, and sacrificially topped them up. Then at the end, they reduced the number of required years so I hadn't need to do that.

I am sure our nonarable government will do what is right, and make recompense ;-)

....and then take it off those on benefits...