- Conference
- 2003 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 10 October 2002
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that women employees relying on the state pension earned during employment to provide a reasonable standard of living in retirement, often find at the time of retirement, that they will not receive their anticipated pension. We believe this is a pension scandal to rival that of Equitable Life or the Maxwell affair.
1. 1.5 million women of working age, at some stage, paid National Insurance contributions at the reduced rate for married women.
2. The system was changed by legislation in 1977 but women who had already chosen the lower rate were allowed to continue paying it without being clearly advised of the advantages of paying the higher rate.
3. Women report that the consequences of the option to buy back missing years contributions was not made clear to them.
4. Many women are still not aware that, as a result of paying the reduced contributions, they will not receive a full state pension in their own right at the age of 60 and only discover this when approaching retirement. (One must have a minimum of ten years paying full contributions to qualify and anything less than 10 years are lost to the system).
5. Those who feel cheated of the ‘lost payments’ feel that the system devalues the amount they will receive in parity to women who have contributed nothing.
This Conference therefore urges the National Women’s Committee:
To work with the National Exective Council, Affiliated Political Fund and any other associated organisations to put pressure on the Labour Government to make some redress to these women which will prevent them having to claim means tested state benefit to keep them above the poverty level. Further, to ensure that all women in the ‘risk’ category are informed of the possible reduction of their retirement pension.