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<p>The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age arrangements for women
affected by the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2011. These women will receive
their State Pension either at the same age as men or earlier as we remove current
gender timetable inequality.</p><br /><p>The equalisation of State Pension age was
necessary to meet the UK’s obligations under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities
in social security provision. The Pensions Act 1995 contained legislation to equalise
women’s State Pension age and, since April 2010, women’s State Pension age has been
gradually increasing. Following sharp increases in life expectancy projections, and
therefore the increase in the number of people living longer in retirement, this timetable
was accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011.</p><br /><p>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 around £1 billion in total.</p>
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