Kayteeb53
Thank you for all your support Mhairi. I am a 1953 woman. I took voluntary redundancy just before I was 59, thinking my redundancy money would see me through till 60. Then was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have finished treatment but the illness has impacted my energy and there are not too many jobs for 62 year old women.
I lost both my parents but really feel for the women who give up work to become carers. It is usually the woman who sacrifices her job to take on this role, and I think this is a fundamental reason why men and women's pension requirements are different. It is rare that the man gives up work.
Hi kayteeb53
Sorry to hear about your illness - hope things are going well.
You're absolutely correct. One of the rebuttals they Government gives to the arguments put forward by WASPI is that it's all okay because women will do better under the new single tier state pension due to come in April this year. But the Government fails to acknowledge the fact that women will only receive the higher state pension on the condition that they have paid 35 years' worth of NI. This clearly disadvantages many women like yourself who have not had the chance to build up that much NI because of things such as unpaid care. Unpaid carers save consecutive governments an absolute fortune when it comes to care - it's time the Government learned to appreciate this and treat people with the respect they deserve.