Campaign group calls for '˜fairer' pensions deal for women

Affiliated to the national Women against State Pension Age Inequality group (WASPI), Lincolnshire WASPI is meeting with MPs and coordinating activities in the county, and with other groups throughout England.

Pat Tartellin, one of the group’s coordinators, said: “We aim to encourage local women to sign the WASPI petition on the Lincolnshire WASPI Facebook page.

“There is still an opportunity to revise the SPA arrangements for affected women and future generations and make them fairer for all. A cross-party group is now consulting on the changes and it is an opportunity for women to make their voices heard.

“Information received from a Freedom of Information request by WASPI shows that notification of women started 14 years after the 1995 legislation and many have never received a letter notifying them of their new State pension age.

“As a result, women in their late 50s who had expected to retire shortly after their 60th birthday found they either needed to carry on working, or live on savings, for an unexpected additional 5-6 years.”

Campaigners claim transitional arrangements for State Pension Age changes were poorly thought through.

Mrs Tartellin added: “The WASP campaign is not against the equalisation of the state pension age but the unfair way it has been imposed and administered.”

○Details from the Lincolnshire WASPI Facebook page or email [email protected]