PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
State Retirement Pensions: Females (19 December 2017)

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying all women aged 60 or over but yet to reach state pension age (SPA) non-means tested income at Jobseekers Allowance rates until SPA is reached.

Asked by:
Anna McMorrin (Labour)

The Department has no plans to carry out such an assessment.

A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.

This issue has been debated numerous times and numerous statements have already been made. Introducing further concessions cannot be justified given the imperative to focus public resources on helping those most in need.

The current average age of exit from the labour market for women is 63.6 – well above the previous women’s State Pension age of 60. The welfare system continues to provide a safety-net for those experiencing hardship, including for reasons of unemployment, disability and coping with caring responsibilities. The Government is committed to supporting the vulnerable and spends around £50 billion a year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.

Answered by:
Guy Opperman (Conservative)
22 December 2017