Irish workers: Tory Mayhew with Dick Spring Republicanism and the dead and unemployed but as memThe government plan to equalise the qualification age for the state pension to 65 will push older women into poverty.
The State Pension at 60 Alliance commented, 'women rely on the state pension as their main income in retirement as two-thirds have no occupational pension.
The state pension provides the best cover for women who, because of career breaks and periods of low pay, are less likely than men to have a personal pension or to belong to an occupational scheme.
Due to be introduced in 2010 the scheme is a massive attack on women under 44, particularly those in their late 30s and early Homeless and hungry: a pensioner in Whitechapel According to one pension company, Skandia Life, a 30 year old woman would need to pay an extra 245 per month between now and age 60 to make up for the missing five years of state pension. A completely unrealistic option for the majority of Five years Dorothy Robson, of the EOC, says 'Currently only 16 per cent of women get a full basic state pension anyway, and they are now being asked to wait an extra five years for the same benefits.!
The increase in the qualifying age for women is unrealistic given the current trend towards earlier retirement. And anyway where are the jobs that will allow women to work until they are 65? Currently over half of men between 60 and 65 are unemployed!