THE number of older women in Scotland claiming out-of-work benefits has more than tripled over the past six years as the state pension age has risen.
More than 29,000 women aged 60 and over were claiming benefits such as Job Seekers Allowance, Universal Credit and incapacity benefits in May last year, according to new figures.
The research, published by the House of Commons library, says this compares to 9017 in May 2013, representing a rise of 223%. Glasgow North East recorded the highest increase at 315%.
Almost four million women across the UK – including around 340,000 in Scotland – have been affected by a decision to increase the state pension age from 60 to 66, which was first introduced by the Conservative Government in 1995 with further changes made in subsequent years.
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Campaigners say this has penalised women born in the 1950s, who have been forced to face the significant change with a lack of notification.
Last week they were dealt a blow after a High Court ruling dismissed an appeal case by women claiming they faced discrimination when their state pension age was increased.
Rosie Dickson, co-ordinator for Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) Scotland, said the women who were over 60 claiming benefits had been denied access to their state pensions.
She said: “The number of women who for the first time in their lives were forced into working age benefits, when they had reasonably expected to be receiving their state pension, has been steadily rising.
“These benefits cost thousands to administer as opposed to state pensions and with the accompanying loss of dignity, work capability inspections or exclusion from benefits many also suffer.”
She added: “Sadly this is the tip of the iceberg as many women do not claim or have died in the intervening years.
“These are real women who have done the right thing all their lives and been in essential worker roles, only to become figures in a spreadsheet at the Treasury.”
Dickson said despite the High Court ruling the campaign was continuing with the message #wearenotgoingaway.
She said thousands of complaints of maladministration by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) had been lodged with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman which were still in process.
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She said: “Our campaign has never opposed equalisation of the state pension age but the manner in which it was done.
“Not only was there little or no notification at the time of the first increase in 1995, the timetable of who were affected was unclear and then the goalposts were changed again for these women in 2011, further causing uncertainty.”
The High Court ruling was welcomed last week by the DWP, which said it showed it had acted lawfully and did not discriminate on any grounds.
“The Government decided 25 years ago that it was going to make the state pension age the same for men and women as a long-overdue move towards gender equality,” a DWP spokesperson said.
“Raising state pension age in line with life expectancy changes has been the policy of successive administrations over many years.”
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