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Her grandmother, who claims to have suffered from gender discrimination throughout her working life, said her final shock was learning that the state pension age would be raised from 60 to 66 without fair warning.
said Christine Hood-Wright, 68. I As a woman in her first job, she was delayed in joining the work pension scheme, and in subsequent jobs she was penalized for being paid less than men for similar roles due to the gender pay gap. He said he is doing so.
Then, 18 months before she turned 60, she says she was shocked to learn that she would no longer receive her state pension and would have to wait until she turned 66.
Ms Hoodright is one of an estimated 3.8 million Waspi (Women Against Inequalities in State Pensions) women affected by significant changes to the state pension age.
In a March report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the Department for Work and Pensions will inform women born in the 1950s that their state pension age will rise from 60 to 65, and then to 66. It turned out that he was guilty of mismanagement for not doing so.
“It wasn’t until 18 months before I was due to retire that I realized I had to work another six years,” she said. “My colleagues at work encouraged me to check my pension age online. I couldn’t believe it when I found out I’d have to wait until I was 66 to get my state pension.
“In this situation, you won’t have any time to adapt and it will be impossible to save enough additional funds to make a difference in your retirement life in such a short period of time.”
Hood Wright, who lives in Hull, said: I How she started working at a major insurance company in 1972 at the age of 16. However, once she turned 25, she was not allowed to join the Employees’ Pension Scheme for another nine years.
“That’s what it was. As a woman, most places you go, you’re not allowed to join a work pension until you’re 25,” she explained.
“Men could have joined sooner. Women were the only ones who had to wait until they were 25.”
Ms. Floodright said she worked for an insurance company for more than 11 years and then worked in stores and supermarkets while her children were young.
She then worked as a court administrator for 26 years, retiring two years ago at the age of 66 and finally receiving her state pension.
“I started working in a typing pool, but then my job changed and I was expected to learn new skills and do the same work as the men. But I didn’t get paid the same as them.
“I have worked in a variety of jobs for 50 years, most recently as a court administrator for HMRC for 26 years. But I keep saying there is a gender pay gap and they are trying to equalize it. Therefore, my salary was always lower than that of men.
“I feel like I am a Waspian woman who has suffered sex discrimination throughout my working life due to being paid less than men. When I found out that I would then have to work for another six years, it was a real shock. ”
In 2003, tragedy affected Ms. Hood-Wright’s life when her first husband, Tony Hood, died of cancer at the age of 53.
“I never expected to be in that position and all of a sudden I had to keep everything going,” she said. “I had to keep working, and then I found out I had to keep working until I was 66. By the time I realized it, my health was getting worse, but I needed the money. I had to keep working.
“Meanwhile, in 2005 I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and spent 17 months in and out of hospital and off work. It was a tough time and I couldn’t claim the money anywhere, so I got it from my husband’s pension. I had to live on money alone.
“When I finally went back to work, I had to keep working until I was 66. I was exhausted. I was just coping because I had to, but I didn’t know how I was going to cope. I don’t know.”
Ms Hoodright married her second husband, Tom Wright, in 2011 and the couple have three children and six grandchildren.
Ms Hoodright, now 68 years old and having received a state pension for two years, is angry and frustrated that she feels she has to work an additional six years and joins other Waspi women in demanding justice. and is campaigning for fair compensation.
“I received an employee pension at the age of 63, but it wasn’t enough to live on, so I had to keep working. But I was so tired that from the age of 63, I stopped working 24 hours a day. I reduced my hours and received a pension.
“I found out I lost £46,000 because I had to work an extra six years. I feel all Waspi women should be paid at least £10,000 each in compensation. .”
Ms Hoodwright said that instead of raising women’s state pension age to 66 to bring it on par with men, there should have been a middle ground where men’s state pension age was lowered to ensure fairness. thinking.
“Why were women raised to see men?” she asked. “I agree that the state pension age should remain the same, but why did we have to work an extra six years when the state pension age for men remains the same? ” I don’t understand why women have to bear the brunt.
“I think the fairest way would have been to come together halfway and set the age at which both men and women can begin receiving the national pension to be 63.”
She added: ‘To add more salt to the wound, they reduced our National Insurance payments. Not only did we Waspi women have to work for another six years, we also had to pay National Insurance in full. did.”
Angela Madden, chair of Women’s Campaign Against State Pension Inequalities, said: ‘It is unacceptable to learn of state pension age changes just 18 months before retirement, but examples like Christine’s are sad. It is especially well known.
“Women across the country are calling on their representatives to put pressure on their MPs to hold an emergency vote in Parliament to ensure fair and prompt compensation.The Ombudsman has decided that Parliament must intervene. , now people across Westminster have decided that this must happen.
“Nearly 5,000 WASPI women have died since the Ombudsman report was released in March. Justice delayed is justice denied.”