Councillor's plea for fair pension deal for women

Milngavie councillor Jim Gibbons felt so strongly about this that he put forward the motion at East Dunbartonshire Council’s last meeting before Christmas. It was seconded by Kirkintilloch and Lenzie councillor Gillian Renwick and passed unanimously by all the councillors.

The state pension age has been raised to 67 for women born on or after 6th April 1951.

Jim Gibbons said: “While recognising that the retirement age for men and women should be the same, it is not fair that women received little or no notification of the changes to allow them to make alternative pension arrangements.

“Many women who have paid their contributions into the system have made decisions based on the state pension age being 60 and may have retired to take on a caring role in society and now they have been abandoned to suffer financial hardship.”