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Don't you feel angry when history gets rewritten............but not by the govt this time!
What nonsense I read yesterday in an article in a broadsheet daily paper about women in their 60s and 70s who had chosen to pay the married woman's reduced rate stamp and so were only entitled to small state pensions. It suggested most didn't realise the effect their choice would have on their state pension entitlement when they retired. Of course, as is often the case, now the implications are realised, we have concerted campaigning by Women Against State Pension Inequality arguing that the 'change' was poorly communicated and has left women out of pocket.
When I notified my marriage in the 60s, I was given a leaflet that fully explained the choice to pay the reduced stamp and set out what both paying full rate or reduced rate would entitle me to. A tear off form at the back of the leaflet had to be completed and sent off if I wished to change to the reduced stamp. What wasn't clear in that communication??
Over a decade later, I was giving these leaflets out myself or would be asked for the forms. As the women were in front of me, I would attempt to explain the implications of either choice, but most women just wanted to pay as little as possible and didn't give a toss about the future consequences. Typical responses to considering their future pension were, 'I'd rather have more in my pocket now', 'my husband/children will have to keep me', 'the govt won't let me starve when I'm old', 'I might be dead by then'.
The choice to pay reduced rate ended in 1977 when, the writer of the article suggests it was realised many women might lose out! I don't think so!! More likely to ensure that everyone starting work after then paid towards their own future state pension, so hopefully less top ups with benefits would be needed. Also to save the cost of putting right the inevitable errors made when women forgot to give their cards to their employer or thought they could chop and change what they paid without notifying it.
Nowadays it seems no-one can be held responsible for their own actions............it always has to be someone else's fault.
What do they expect? To be given the same as those women who have paid the extra out of their wages and managed on less money all their working lives? That would be unfair.
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