Majority of women unaware of plan to raise pension age

Most women are completely unaware of Government plans to raise the age at which they can start drawing their state pension from 60 to 65 over the next 15 years, according to a survey from the Department of Work & Pensions published this week.

Most women are completely unaware of Government plans to raise the age at which they can start drawing their state pension from 60 to 65 over the next 15 years, according to a survey from the Department of Work & Pensions published this week.

The move, which was announced over a year ago, will affect all women born after 1950, and will be phased in between 2010 and 2020. It will ensure that the majority of women have to work five years longer and it will bring women's state pension age alongside that of men.

According to the report, 57 per cent of those who will be affected by the move were totally unaware of the changes. Furthermore, the majority of these were those who were most likely to be relying on the state pension as their main source of income in retirement.

Tom McPhail, the head of pensions research for Hargreaves Lansdown, the Bristol-based financial adviser, said he was not surprised by the results. "I think this research highlights the fact that an awful lot of people are in denial about getting to grips with pensions planning in general." A similar proportion of men surveyed were also unaware of the changes to the legislation, even though most will be affected by the changes to their household income.

Meanwhile, new DWP figures also released this week, revealed that a large number of pensioners are still unaware of the pensions credit, which was introduced a year ago, with more than two in five of those eligible still not claiming.

The figures revealed that the number of new claimants peaked in March, and has been falling since. Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on pensions, said: "Things have gone from bad to worse with the new Pension Credit. As every month goes by pensioners are missing out on money they are entitled to. [The Government] now needs to radically re-think its policy to ensure that pensioners receive their money."