| answer text |
<p>The approach of Labour, Conservative and the Coalition governments for the last
24 years since the 1995 pensions Act is the same. This Government’s position on the
changes to State Pension age (SPa) remains clear and consistent.</p><p /><p>We have
considered the alternative options offered by stakeholders and found there are substantial
practical, financial and legal problems to all alternative options offered by stakeholders
so far to mitigate the impact on those affected. During the passage of the 2011 Act,
the Government listened to the concerns of those affected and subsequently introduced
a concession worth £1.1 billion in order to limit the impact on those women who would
be most affected by the changes.</p><p> </p><p>In the years after the 1995 legislation,
equalisation was frequently reported in the media and debated at length in Parliament.
The changes were communicated in a variety of ways, for example with leaflets, extensive
advertising campaigns were carried out and later individual letters were posted out.
Throughout this period, the Department has also provided individuals with their most
up-to-date State Pension age when they have requested a Pension statement. Between
April 2000 and the end of April 2019, the Department provided more than 28 million
personalised State Pension statements to people who requested them (either online
or by telephone or post). We continue to encourage people to request a personalised
State Pension Statement as part of our on-going communications.</p><p> </p><p>This
matter has been comprehensively debated on many occasions in Parliament, and any amendment
to the current legislation which creates a new inequality between men and women would
be highly dubious as a matter of law. The Government has no plans to publish a response
to EDM 2390.</p>
|
|
