Fight over women’s state pension ‘goes on’ says Falkirk MP

Today campaigners lost a significant legal battle when, following a judicial review, judges said the changes were not discriminatory.

The retirement age for women rose from 60 to 65 to be in line with men and will go up to 66 by 2020 and to 67 by 2028.

Women born in the 1950s calim the rise is unfair because they were not given enough time to make adjustments to cope with years without a state pension.

Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigns against the way in which the state pension age for men and women was equalised. They call for the millions of women affected by the change to receive compensation.

In a summary of the court’s decision, the judges said: “There was no direct discrimination on grounds of sex, because this legislation does not treat women less favourably than men in law. Rather it equalises a historic asymmetry between men and women and thereby corrects historic direct discrimination against men.”

However, Falkirk MP John McNally, who supports the campaigners, said: “This is deeply disappointing and will be a huge blow to the campaign but it is not the end.

“Far from giving up, I will remain committed to supporting the WASPI women’s fight for their rightful pensions.”