The Beginning:
When planning the first Sex Discrimination Act (1975) in the early 1970s, it is believed that Barbara Castle had wished to include an equal state pension age of 60 in its remit, but later dropped this idea when Prime Minister Jim Callaghan responded with ‘do you want me to bankrupt the country?’ Nor did it feature in the subsequent 1984 Sex Discrimination Act. An equal age of 66 for both sexes in Britain had to wait until 2018. The age for both sexes is at present legislated to rise to 67 by 2028 for both sexes and then to 68 by 2039. The issue of an equal state pension age erupted again in February 1986, when the European Court of Justice ruled in the Marshall case(1) that, although state pension ages could be different for comparably employed men and women, compulsory retirement ages had to be equal for them.
For those resident in European Union countries already with equal pension ages for men and women, this made little difference. However, for those resident in those EU countries still with unequal pension ages generally, such as the UK, such arrangement was perverse, since for most people in employment retirement is regarded as synonymous with pension.
Legal Actions:
The main European Council Directive applying to matters pertaining to social security is Council Directive 79/7EEC of 19 December 1978(3). Article 7 of the Directive allows Member States to exclude pensionable age from its remit provided reasonable explanation is given. Any critical challenge, therefore, could not be directed at the UK’s unequal state pension ages but possibly could be against the unequal number of contribution years that men and women in consequence had to contribute (44 and 39 respectively) for their eventual generally equal state pensions.
Following discussions, CESPA managed to persuade the EOC to take a case on this particular aspect to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Although the Advocate General was sympathetic, the full Court later ruled that altering the number of contribution years could ‘imperil the stability of the existing financial equilibrium’ of the UK National Insurance Scheme, and so rejected the application.
The eventual 1995 Pensions Act surpassing the UK National Insurance Scheme to provided for equalising the state pension age for women to 65 over the period 2010 to 2020 and to 66 for both sexes by 6 October 2020. Subsequent legislation requires the age for both sexes to increase to 67 by 2028 and to 68 by 2039.
Continuing Activity:
Following this equalising legislation, CESPA continued to involve itself in other perceived sex inequality issues, with much debate and correspondence. The organisation changed its name to PARITY in 1997 to reflect growing concern about unequal treatment in other respects. In January 2005, following changes in human rights law, it finally gained charitable status (1107795).
During its peak time in the early 90s, its membership rose to over twelve hundred, as sex inequality issues steadily became more mainstream. Much credit for this expansion must go to the membership secretary for many years, John Bennett, who, together with other members, wrote to countless local newspapers and other news sources about the country to generate interest and support. Members were encouraged to protest, politely, wherever they saw in shop windows, or other display areas, price or entry
notices based on state pension age.
During the early years, much time was spent by CESPA officers contacting sympathetic unions, MPs, organisations, and individuals which or who showed serious sympathy with the cause. The Rt Revd Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford, was the honorary President for five early years, and Baroness Seear a Vice-President. CESPA had several MP’s on its notepaper during later years, including Gwyneth Dunwoody, George Foulkes, Andrew Bowden and Martin Bell, the journalist.
CESPA receives no public funding and could never afford an official office. The work of the organisation has generally been carried out voluntarily in the homes of the Officers most concerned, with usually six Trustees meetings each year in London to decide policies and priorities. In the early days of CESPA, the Annual General Meeting was occasionally held outside London, for instance once each in Bristol, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Birmingham, in order to try to reach more members. In recent years it has been held at the Union Jack Club in London, with an invited speaker, and Trustees meetings have been kindly hosted at its London offices by the union New Prospect.
The Future:
The main current concerns of PARITY include the widening gap in boy’s education, lack of effective support for male victims of domestic abuse, demotion or absence of fathers in family life,
and the steadily increasing criminalisation of younger males. There is also a real need for men to have a stronger parliamentary voice on men’s issues.
PARITY is still providing the parliamentary voice on the following men’s issues:
- Education
- Male victims of domestic abuse
- Fathers in family life
- Existing statutory sex discriminations
PARITY continues to work on all these issues, to this day …
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Hello,
Thankyou for the comment and letting us know about the image issue with our blogs.
We can assure you that the blog are loading correctly as they been tested before being published.
Apologies if you experiencing this issue, we do our upmost to rectify the issue.
Regards,
Webmaster For Parity Charity.
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Hello,
Appreciate the feedback and comments about our posts and the site.
We are glad that you find the discussion interesting about certain issues. We will do our upmost to keep everyone informed about these issue’s.
Our pleasure and appreciate the compliment about the site.
That’s fine, please share our link with anyone who would be interested.
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Hi,
Appreciate the feedback and comments about our posts and the site.
We are glad that you find the discussion interesting about certain issues. We will do our
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Our pleasure and appreciate the compliment about the site.
Yes we do have a contact page, here is the link.
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Appreciate the feedback and comments about our posts and the site.
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and come back as we will be updating the website regularly.
We appreciate you found or posts / articles most useful.
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Hi,
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We appreciate the offer, for any work outside Parity, please contact via the Contact Form on our Contact Page.
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we will take on your suggestion on board about giving more detail
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Admin Grey Swans pension group was a campaigner since 2013 amongst us 1950s born ladies, who had half a decade of state pension taken off us, without most knowing pension age 60 was going to be lost, as we turned 60 from 2011.
Men (as had been gained for decades) continued to get unemployment or sick benefit without requirement to seek work, between ages 60 to 64 inclusive til 2018. Getting automatic National Insurance credits contribution history towards state pension entitlement. This was not granted to women who lost state pension payment from 60 onwards from 2011, and up to 6 years from 2013/2014 onwards.
Men also had automatic National Insurance credits if retired early from age 60, being economically inactive.
Men lost all that you had gained through the courts, from age 60, for pensioner benefits.
1960s born men are now also losing from age 60, with pension age 67 of women, who have been turning 60 since 2020. 1960s born got pension age 67 through 2007, 2011 and 2014 pension acts.
1970s born are now the victims of the loss from 2010 of early works pension age 50 to 55, soon to rise to 57. 1970s born about to get rise from pension age 67 since 2007 pension act, to 68 with this year’s state pension age review.
1980s born onwards have had pension age 68 since 2007.
Admin Grey Swans’ campaign is to gain moral support (no money asked, just verbal support) for creation of our new Over 50s & Young Labouring Ages party, that would, in government, by your kind votes:
– Bring down men’s works and state pension payment age from 67 to 65 immediate on winning general election, by amending published law. Keeping the end of default retirement law (2011).
– Swiftly start new law to bring men’s pension age down to 60
(women’s pension age would immediately revert to 60 as only needs to amend published law).
– Amend works pension age to 50 for manual jobs, men and women.
– Bring back early works pension age 50 for all other jobs.
– Bring back higher age related tax allowance of £3,000 above basic tax allowance, but lower start age to 50.
And other pension money and issue policies.
www dot over50sparty dot org dot uk
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We will do our upmost to keep everyone informed about these issues.
Our pleasure and again appreciate the compliment about the site and our
presentation, please bookmark us and come back as we will be updating
the website regularly.
We appreciate the comment and also have mentioned about the resource
in the comment to our Trustees.
Kind Regards,
Webmaster For Parity Charity