State Pension Age campaign

A letter to the editor issued to all Welsh newspapers.

Dear Editor,

State Pension Age campaign

Age Cymru wants your readers’ help with a campaign we are running to highlight the unfairness of proposals contained in the UK Government’s Pensions Bill.

The UK Government is speeding up plans to raise the state pension age for women to 66 by 2020, which is six years earlier than it had originally planned.

Under these proposals, 2,700 women in Wales will have to wait an extra two years before they will be able to claim State Pension.

Age Cymru feels this is unfair and the UK Government is hurting this hard-working group of women in Wales who believed their retirement was just around the corner.

We think the UK Government is right to look at reforming the pensions system – after all, we have an ageing population, but this is too much, too soon.

The Pensions Bill must be amended to ensure that the current timetable for equalisation remains and any increase to the State Pension Age beyond 65 does not start until at least 2020.

If you are one of the 2,700 Welsh women who will be affected by these proposals, Age Cymru is inviting you to join a Mass Lobby we are holding in London on 18 May with our sister charity, Age UK.

The event will provide an opportunity for you to meet you MP face-to-face and discuss the impact these proposals will have on your life in detail.

For further details about how you can get involved in this Mass Lobby, please contact Age Cymru’s Campaigns Co-ordinator, Rhea Stevens on 029 2043 1571, or email rhea.stevens@agecymru.org.uk before 12 noon on Friday 13 May.