Government accused of 'mis-selling' as ministers rule out concessions to women affected by pension age changes

A petition to discuss how state pensions for women have changed secured more than 140,000 signatures

Around 70,000 people could miss out on their state pension (Getty)

Ministers have ruled out giving concessions to thousands of women born in the 1950s who are now facing an increase in the state pension age, leading to criticisms they "mis-sold" pensions.

During a debate at Westminster Hall on Monday, MPs criticised the government over the increase in state pension age (SPA).

An increase from 60 to 65 was included in the 1995 Pensions Act, to be phased in between 2010 and 2010. However, the coalition government pushed through a sped up timetable in 2011, instead increasing SPA to 65 between April 2016 and November 2018.

The age for both men and women will rise to 66 by October 2020.

The debate was triggered by a Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) petition, which secured more than 140,000 signatures.

Introducing the debate, Labour MP Helen Jones, born 1954, accused the Department for Work and Pensions of a "gross dereliction of duties" in the way it told women about the reforms.

“Not until 2009 did they start to do that, and they stopped that process in 2011," she said.

"That is a gross dereliction of duty on the part of the Department for Work and Pensions, and it cannot be defended”.

She went on to add: If this was a private provider we would be after them for mis-selling."

However, the Government ruled out changes to the current state pension arrangements.

Shailesh Vara, a Work and Pensions minister, defended the policy by insisting it needed to be considered in a "broad context" alongside a "whole lot of other benefits".

He told MPs: "We need to look at things in a broad context. There are a whole lot of other benefits that are available to the women who may be affected.

"For example there's jobseeker's allowance, there's Employment and Support Allowance, there's income support, carers' allowance, Personal Independence Payments."

His comments were decried by the Women Against State Pension Inequality group, who told the Daily Mail: "The suggestion that women who have been callously robbed of their pension should claim jobseeker’s allowance is an utter insult to a large cohort of women who have made many years’ contributions to their state pensions."