Dignity and Respect should be the corner stones of Government policy
development and this is particularly relevant for state pension provision.
State pension is not a privilege, it is an entitlement because people have
paid into the system during their working lives. It is the duty of the state
to make sure that its older population is taken care of in later life and that
they are not left in poverty in older age. The UK state pension is one of
the worst in Europe, in 2020 Finland was top of the European rankings
for pensions. In 2019 the UK was ranked 17th in Europe but dropped to
25th place in 2020.
The levels of a state pension and how it is prioritised are political choices.
Political parties can change this situation if they choose to do so.
Currently the decisions on levels of state pension are made in
Westminster. This is unlikely to change for Scots unless Scotland
becomes independent and we take control of our own economy.
The Tories and Lib-Dem coalition introduced a Pensions Act in 2011. This
legislation increased retirement age but gave people limited notice of
these changes, and provided no benefits or compensation. This lack of
notice meant that people could not make plans to have a financially
secure retirement. These changes had a significant impact on many people, especially women, born in the 1950s. Women, in particular, are
more likely to live in poverty as they get older because of part-time work
and caring responsibilities during the course of their lives. The long-
running campaign group Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI)
has been publicising the negative impact of the 2011 decision on women
who have worked all of their lives, but to date there has been no
compensation for the unannounced changes to UK retirement age, which
has left many women with a hole of up to £50,000 in their pension.
My professional background, over 25 years, has been working as a
director of three major charities. This career journey has given me the
amazing opportunity to work with a cross-section of Scottish society.
One of the organisations I worked with was Age Scotland, and I saw
firsthand the impact of the low UK state pension and how the changes in
2011 caused poverty and stress for many people. Age Scotland, which
supports people 55 and over, receives over 20,000 calls each year to its
information line. Many are from people with significant concerns about
their pensions and benefits who need advice in dealing with their reduced
income when they reach state pension age.
My work experience has shown me that it is critical to influence political
decision making to prioritise older people. I believe that independence is key to making the changes needed to address issues like state pension
levels and that these decisions should be made in Scotland to benefit our
people.
The Alba Party manifesto includes a commitment to champion Scottish
pensioners and we aim to increase pensions to at least the levels of other
comparable European nations. The Alba party will also campaign with
WASPI women to achieve their goals.
Pensions are a no brainer for an indy manifesto!
I agree we are definitely on the same page
Excellent article and high time that this deficit was exposed. MSM, including so-called left leaning outlets, never highlight the plight of the paucity of the British State pension and the plight of the many older people who rely upon this, one of the lowest State Pensions in Europe.
Thank you the levels of aye pension in the UK are very poor and the issue needs to be highlighted as often as possible
Women born in the 1950s have been treated unfairly with the star welfare provision. It is many of these women who have experienced poverty and have been unable to save for their retirement. Shining a light on the issue is important as it is a message that women are not prepared to let the issue go.
Thank you
The UK has one if the worst rates of state pension in Europe and Scotland needs to have a well planned welfare system that should be in place now. The current SNP government has handed back power to Westminster which was already devolved that does not bode well for future planning in an Independent country. I am confident that Alba would not take that position
Thank you Delia. You are the first one I have seen to acknowledge and highlight the plight of us 50s born women. I’m angry that I was told when I started work that I would receive a state pension at 60. I feel cheated and furious that I am expected to continue to pay contributions which wil not count towards my pension. I began work at 18 and, had I not had to take on caring responsibilities for a family member (for nothing – not even carer’s alowance), I would have been paying into a scheme for 13 extra years for no return. As it is, my only concession for caring is that my contributions are paid for me and have been since I had to give up full time work at 56 – woopee. I’d already paid more than my 35 years contributions by then.
Since Covid I have not even been able to carry on with the part time casual jobs I had because it would have put the person I care for at risk. I’m now his full time carer and don’t claim carer’s allowance because it is worth more in his pocket than mine (I have a very small works pension and claiming carer’s would affect housing benefit). This means, of course, that I haven’t had any of the extra Covid benefits that others have received either.
While i realise that pensions are reserved I am getting increasingly bitter that the Scottish Govt have done absolutely nothing to mitigate the circumstances for this group. Everything they do is for the youth – the most recent bribes of free dental care being the latest punch in the stomach. I have to rely on getting a place with dental students, if available, to ensure free dental treaetment – otherwise I get none, i can;t afford it.
If nothing else they could have made some sort of arrangements to extend the Winter Fuel Allowance, Warmer Home Payment and the Christmas bonus to this group. Considering the amount they are spending to win the youth and the queer vote (through their devotion to Stonewall) i don’t think that is a big ask – but then – the party in power are overwhelmingly ageist as well as misogynist.
Ah, well – only 1226 days to go until my income increases by around 350%. It’s nice to know that someone in Alba understands,
Your experience is sadly not unique for women over 50. This is the type of issue that needs to be addressed and highlighted Older women are often ignored by policy makers and I hope this article helps shine a light on the issue. Alba has a women’s forum which could be a means of keeping the issue on the policy agenda
Which, Delia, is another reason to fight back against the encroachment of ‘trans women’ into every area of women’s lives. If there are no women in any area of public life and public policy, our needs and priorities will be reduced accordingly – back to the bad, old days. No one who has not lived life as a woman, from the earliest days, can possibly know what it is to be a woman, and what our needs are. We have seen how our priorities in the area of sexual assault must, according to a certain ‘trans woman’, be moulded to the wants of others first. It is a very poignant indication of how we are never allowed to put our needs and wants before anyone else’s, and, if we lose the representation we have in public policy areas, we are truly lost.
A big thank you to Delia Henry. Everybody in Scotland needs to be reminded regularly of these shameful facts. No wonder ALBA is RISING! The ALBA PARTY is the only political party with genuine concern for the populace.
Hi Jan as I said dignity and respect should always be a corner stone in policy making. Alba is using that as a key principle in debates to develop policy positions and have committed to campaign with WASPI women to keep the issue on agenda
I am also in that 1950s age group that lost out. I did receive two notifications: the first that I would not receive my pension at age 60; the second that it would be phased in when I was 63. That didn’t happen and I received no third notification, so I was left high and dry. Like most women of that age, I had family responsibilities, then caring responsibilities.
The thing that really angered me was that saving for retirement was all but impossible, and I imagine it would have been for most women (and a lot of men, too) and trying to replace national insurance stamps was also pie in the sky. Most women simply did not, an still do not, earn enough to do either of those things.
Every other country in the EU, as far as I could gather, phased the changes in, but here? Nah. It was just stupid, undeserving women, so why bother? Later, I discovered that a good number of men received their state pension at 60 for a variety of reasons. The reason for women receiving their pension at 60 was because the average age differential between married couples was five years, so that, when men retired at 65, their wives would be 60. Also, women did not pay a full stamp in the past and their pension was tied in with their husband’s. All that has changed, but women still don’t get a fair deal because we normally earn so much less than men even though we bring up families.
I believe that it is in equity for women’s work that the future thrust of change in this area should lie: in all welfare areas. Both within and outwith the home, our contributions to society are still considered to be second-rate and undeserving of reward. Many low-paid men also receive a pretty poor reward for their efforts, and working-class jobs are, like women’s, in the lower scale sectors.
A lot of women did not even get child benefit until 1979. It was only paid if you had 2 children not 1 and home responsibilties payments were not credited before that date.
Great guest post. Delia is spot on here.
Pensioners poverty is on the rise in Scotland with 14% of pensioners living in relative poverty and 12% living in persistent poverty. We know that Pensions in Scotland and the wider UK are the lowest in Europe and indeed one of the lowest in the developed world. It’s hugely frustrating that levels of pensioner poverty remain so high and there has been no real progress on reducing it. In Scotland, there are around 150,000 pensioners living in relative poverty, the equivalent of the population of Dundee, and that number is increasing.
It’s a national scandal and doesn’t get anywhere near enough attention.
We’ve got to end pensioner poverty but it needs action on all fronts and by many people. We need to see political leaders outline how they are going to tackle this.
A key part is encouraging pensioners to claim all of the support they’re entitled to. We know that more than 120,000 pensioners in Scotland aren’t claiming the social security support, such as Pension Credit, that they are entitled to. Why is that? Part of the reason is digital and financial exclusion disproportionately affects older people. Half a million are not online, meaning they often pay a premium for bills and struggle to shop around for the best deals. Add to that the pandemic forcing so many services (including DWP) exclusively online with no chance of having an actual conversation with someone and it’s a perfect storm.
Ending pensioner poverty won’t happen overnight and will require concerted efforts on all fronts, but if we want to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow older, we need to start by ensuring everyone can enjoy a dignified standard of living in later life. We have to reduce costs such as housing, energy and debt. We also need to support people to access every penny that they are entitled to until we can be an Independent country. We can and should then choose to make pensions reflective of the contributions of older people to our economy AND our society. Older people have paid into the system throughout their working lives and should not spend their later years living in poverty or struggling to keep working despite health problems. Delia is right to point out the double whammy effect on women and lower paid workers who are far less likely to have a private pension and rely on the state pension alone.
Ps
Fyi
Hundreds of millions of pounds go unclaimed by older people every year. Age Scotland’s free 0800 12 44 222 helpline can help them understand what they could be missing out on and help with the claims.
Michelle
Michelle thanks for posting this excellent comment. Older people are being excluded from accessing information about benefits they are entitled to claim and this is the type of information that organisations like Age Scotland provide. They not only assess the benefits that older people are entitled to but also support them to navigate a complex and often inaccessible process. This information should not be An independent Scotland can do much better then this as the well-being of our people should be a priority.
Utterly agree with Delia on the matter of pensions.
And for many, and let me use the pejorative language of the street, it’s going to get much worse for some of the poor bastards on peppercorn state pension – and for others too!
Price inflation is starting to rip and it will shred absolutely the value of pensions – and savings too.
Look at how prices have risen. Meats such as beef, lamb, pork, around 10% to 20%, petrol and diesel 25%, vegetables and fruit maybe 10% and now a whopping 12% on gas and electricity.
And in the car market prices are rocketing, as are construction materials.
There’s going to be some poor souls in the not too distant future. And the chancellor is thinking about cancelling the triple lock.
Ah Delia the elderly poor, truly who cares. The average voter – I’m not sure they do.The comfortable politicos.
Post Brexit Scotland is on for a humping. And it’s the auld yins that are getting it.
At least Alba are standing up for pensioners, know what needs done, unlike the yellow Tories, and their masters, the Tories in Westminster.