WOMEN from across Ceredigion have flocked to a meeting in Cardigan to discuss changes to state pensions.

Ceredigion MP Ben Lake, who organised the meeting at the Guildhall, is backing the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign, which is protesting against the changes made by the government to the state pension age, particularly affecting women born in the 1950s.

Around 5,000 women in Ceredigion who expected to retire at 60 have been told, some with only 18 months’ notice, that they will have to wait up to another six years for their pension. It is estimated some women will miss out on over £40,000 in pension payments.

Mr Lake said: “Women born in the 1950s are missing out on pension payments because the UK government has speeded up the pension age moving from 60 to 66. Some people only got 18 months’ notice of this and it is not enough time to make plans.”

Several women shared their stories and experiences during the meeting – many of whom are struggling to make ends meet, and are facing the probability of living permanently below the poverty line throughout their retirement.

Several women said that, due to long-term health problems, it would be extremely difficult for them to carry on working until the age of 66, but that these changes and the lack of adequate warning from the government had left them with no choice.

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