Is my friend being unreasonable about her pension.

You're right granjan, it's been done most unfairly. I never had a private workplace pension because I thought that contributing more via SERPS would enhance my state retirement pension, plus my ex husband had a good pension pot in his workplace pension. I only found out, aged 58, that I wouldn't be able to retire at 60, so not enough time to set up an independent pension. Then they extended retirement ge to 64 and 6 months. Then 66. Had I been fully informed, aged 58, that I would actually have another 8 years to work and build up a pension pot, I'd have done that. But we weren't informed at all, that's the problem. Nothing to do with begrudging others their pensions, just annoyed that a very select group of women have been treated very unfairly.

Well said Pauline42. The mystery of why anyone cares about the money of other people.

I receive a pension of £125 pw, I have it paid weekly because they are then only paying you about 3 days in arrears. If you have it paid monthly you are being paid at least a month in arrears. I want all mine now not when I am dead! Also I was a carer for my daughter until she was in her twenties and was only able to work part-time or as a temp, I received ni credits for those years to help my pension. I was lucky enough to eventually get a job in local government and when I retired on ill health had it made up by a few years, so I don't get any government credits as I am over the limit. You can get a reduction or free nhs dental care and other such things by being on a low income and you simply apply, along with proof and if eligiable you will receive it for a year when you can once again apply. I can see the need for top ups with pensions and it doesn't really worry me, you lose other benefits when you receive your pension, like carers allowance and mobility allowance if you are disabled so it all helps. Its no good getting yourself into a state over what people get and others don't.

SERPS was a big con for everyone.

The SERPS problem isn't just to do with those born after 1953.
Apparently my husband paid into SERPS at some time, probably when he was working for local councils.
So because of that my pension gets reduced by £45 a week, because I am supposedly getting this money in some other way.
I have tried to trace this money through the pensions tracing service. They can't find it, but will not pay me the £45, tell me it's my problem.

The main problem is if young people realise if they do not make much contribution to their own company pensions when they eventually retire they will get their pensions topped up by tax payer. My DS get a choice how much to pay in between 1%-10%. There is absolutely no incentive to encourage paying more pension in. For this reason alone I strongly believe those who pay in more should get more out. Nobody should starve but those who have chosen not to pay in pension should not be given enough money to pay for cigarettes, Bingo, holidays and nights out etc. Young people should be given better education on this topic whilst still at school. The more pension top ups the government have to make the less to spend on NHS and care for disabled and elderly who need care.

Yes Chewbacca I have the same problem. Born Apr 54 and paid NI contributions 45yr. Redundant @60 and impossible to get another job so have to wait nearly 6 yr with no inocme of my own despite what I was told. Now have to depend on husband's pension - what a way to treat women who have worked and tried to do the right thing all their lives to be chucked on the scrapheap.

pauline42 to some extent I agree with you but nevertheless, it's galling to know that some of us took the decision to save more of our salaries into SERPS to ensure that we received a decent pension at retirement age. To discover, at the 11th hour, that we would have no benefit from those contributions is annoying to say the least. We might just have well p***ed it up the wall like others did who elected not to contribute. No one wants to see anyone in penury, at any age, but the feeling of having been cheated/conned is somewhat justified I think.

Well said durhamjen, I am in exactly the same position as your sister, being born in March 1953, and getting £120 a week, and my friend born in April gets the new pension of £155, so a difference of £35 a week for the rest of our lives! I got mine at 63, and she started getting hers at 63 and 3 months. I don't begrudge her getting this, would I would like it too obviously, it is such an unfair system!

I thought that even without pension credit you could get help with NHS costs and CT if your income was low enough

Why are British people so obsessed with the amount of money other people receive for their in retirement pension. It appears to be an endless ongoing topic of discussion and controversy in their retirement years and often, when the subject is raised, it seems to bring out the worst in everyone.

This "he gets more than me and he doesn't deserve it" attitude is so negative and can be so detrimental to your mental health as you age.

Why not accept "it is what it is" - be thankful for reaching retirement age and be grateful that there is a pension cheque for them - whether they have worked or not and whether they have managed to save anything extra for their retirement years or not!

I haven't read all of the posts on this thread but would ask you all to go on the WASPI website. Join the group if it relates to your circumstances. Lobby your councillors and MPs and complete the forms etc to take this case forward.

"I dont pay in to the funds just for me ....its to maintain our society and provide for those who need it." Absolutely agree with Granmary 18

Thats the only thing that irks with me, my pension and works pension takes me over qualifying for pension credit(200.00) a week but still have to pay for Dental treatment.The last treatment was £200+. Adult education classes the concessions now are only for if you get Pension Credit. I live in an age restricted complex where the service charges are £2000 per year, yes I am fortunate my works pension pays it. but if I lived in a council flat my rent would be paid worth £5000 plus no council tax to pay, another £1000 so my state pension I would live on quite comfortably.

durhamjen That's so sad about your dh. My dad died a short while before he got to retire. He worked v hard and missed a chance to rest and also my mother lost her dreams of visiting far away family with him.

Carolest59, I know it seems hard to believe that the campaign will change anything - we have little leverage after all. But it's worth a try, surely? The powers that be were no doubt encouraged to go even further after we all just sighed and rolled over when the first hike to the pension age hit us (though to be fair, a lot didn't even know about it!). Mine went up to 64 at that time - I can't remember the exact age as I picked up the information online, the authorities didn't feel the need to write and tell me about it. They no doubt realised then what a soft target they'd found, so up it went to 66. Yes, of course there has to be equalisation of the pension age, but no other country has done it to a timescale like this, meaning that one relatively small group of women are hit so hard and so unfairly.

The thing is, at the last demo I heard about women of my age who have worked since they were 15, are now on their own, in poor health, and relying on their own parents and foodbanks for help. This is shameful, and if going down to London and shouting about it raises awareness just a notch or two, it's worth it for me.

There are some glimmers of hope. WASPI has crowdfunded to enable them to pay one of the top UK employment law firms to look at the case and advise as to whether a legal challenge is worth pursuing. And the all party parliamentary group supporting them is the biggest ever and still growing.

Like you, I am irritated by the argument that we paid for a previous generation's pension, not our own. Well, someone is paying in now for ours and we're not getting it! If the NI pension contributions paid by both employees and employers are not going towards pensions, what are they being used for?

Fortunately being disabled and getting various benefits gives you NI credits.

Actually that's not true. He fell off a ladder and broke his back, then got cerebellar ataxia, and was disabled for the last ten years of his life, then got brain cancer. Even less fair.

Yes, Marieeliz, my husband worked all his life and died six months after he reached 65, five years ago last weekend.
Life is not fair, is it?

Envying and resenting others is a waste of time and energy. The woman getting pension credits probably wouldnt be able to manage without them ...does your friend want her in penury? I'm grateful for the position Im in with no pension credits ....others need them and so be it. I dont pay in to the funds just for me ....its to maintain our society and provide for those who need it . People chose the old married womans allowance because that was the option then and life, society and attitudes were different and if money was short it was a way of getting a bit more!. Live and let live and be grateful would be my comment to your friend on this one

I am in the same situation as the PO. Worked from 15 to 73. I have State Pension plus 2 small OP. My next door neighbour also worked all her life. She did not pay into any OP. Her state pension is topped up and she will get Council tax paid. I do wonder why I bothered. My brother did also work all his life and sadly died 3 weeks after 65. His widow received £2000 + £100 :a month for a year. Life is not fair!

Sorry durhamjen i think you've already explained this, ignore me.

durhamjen that seems so unfair for your sister, but sorry if i'm missing something here, if your sister is only on £120 a week shouldn't pension credits top that amount up to £155 a week?

I think it is extremely unlikely the waspi campaign will change anything.It has been discussed in parliament many times over the past few years and they won't budge on it.
I'm one of the women affected going from 60 to 66 ,born 1956.also are people aware that you can no longer claim on a husbands contributions should yours be insufficient or if he dies as you could before .
I am fed up of ladies (usually childless) saying how they have full contributions etc and should get more than mums who took a few years out because it is the "children " who pay the state pensions of today as we paid our parents generations pensions.

But at least the pension age is later, 66 years is a nicer retirement than 60.