WOMEN'S PENSIONS

EDM number 975 in 2006-07, proposed by Graham Stuart on 26/02/2007.

That this House notes that, according to the Equal Opportunities Commission, 2.2 million women in the UK are not accruing rights to the basic state pension; further notes that retired men have on average between £50 and £100 more private pension income than women of the same age per week; welcomes the commitment in the 2006 Pensions Bill to reduce the number of qualifying years for a full basic state pension to 30 years from 2010 but recognises that those retiring before 2010 are not covered under the Bill and will still require the existing 39 years' contributions for women or 44 years for men; is concerned that almost five million women will be left behind by these changes; and calls on Ministers to consider the plight of poorer female pensioners when considering further reforms of the state pension.

This motion has been signed by a total of 59 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.