- Conference
- 2021 Virtual Retired Members Conference
- Date
- 29 June 2021
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that the Government announced earlier this year that there had been an underpayment of up to £3 billion in total of pensions for some who reached SPA before April 2016 and fall into certain categories.
These sums affect thousands of women and some men who were underpaid their state pensions and not all will receive their repayments in full. It is estimated that it will take 6 years to repay all those affected. All this allegedly due to a computer glitch.
Tens of thousands, possibly as many as 200,000 women, are affected and it could boost their pension payments by up to 60%. Whilst it is understood that the majority of those affected will receive a letter and an automatic backdated payment which could be in the £1,000s. The average payment will be £13,500 but could be potentially far more.
However, others will need to check their pension entitlement and will need to make a claim and not all those who have been underpaid will receive the full sum owed to them and others may just slip through the net.
Conference is aware that the high cost of living has meant that many impoverished pensioners are dependent on food banks and the delivery of cooked meals daily.
The pandemic has highlighted many injustices and the women’s pensions underpayment is another. It is unacceptable and the government needs to pay up now rather than continuing a policy of making the rich richer and the poor even poorer.
Therefore, Conference calls upon the National Retired Members’ Committee to:
1)Raise awareness of the issue with the National Executive Council, Labour Link and the TUC;
2. Campaign with the National Pensioners’ Convention and Age UK for the immediate repayment of the underpaid pensions in full to all those affected.