Newcastle North MP, Catherine McKinnell, has today (11th May) joined colleagues from across the House of Commons to form a Parliamentary group on State Pension Inequality.
The new cross-party group will support those 1950s-born women hit by the acceleration of the equalisation of the State Pension Age, first in 1995 and then in 2011.
According to the independent House of Commons Library, around 4,000 women are directly affected by the 2011 Pensions Act in Newcastle North alone – whilst over 350 of Catherine’s constituents signed the recent e-petition calling for transitional arrangements, which received almost 200,000 signatures nationwide.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign works to lobby the Government to introduce transitional arrangements for those women affected, many of whom were not notified about the changes, and took early retirement, leaving them without any income.
The new Parliamentary Group, launched today in the Houses of Parliament at a standing room-only meeting, will be co-chaired by MPs from each of the parties, and will work closely with the WASPI campaign. Catherine McKinnell has become one of the group’s Vice Chairs.
The All-Party Group will seek to work with the new Work and Pensions Secretary, Stephen Crabb, to introduce transitional arrangements.
Catherine said:
‘This new group is recognition of the fact that many thousands of women up and down the country are facing genuine financial hardship as a result of changes to the State Pension Age, despite having paid into the system throughout their working lives. The Government simply must listen on this issue, because it is not going to go away.
‘I’m really pleased to become a Vice Chair and founding member of this new Parliamentary campaign group, and will keeping fighting for a fair and just outcome for the thousands of my constituents who have been affected.’