A WASPI woman said she only found out about the state pension age change when she joined Facebook in 2013. Gillian Laycock, 65, from Yorkshire, spoke to Express.co.uk about her frustrations concerning the change to her state pension age.
A WASPI woman said she only found out about the state pension age change when she joined Facebook in 2013. Gillian Laycock, 65, from Yorkshire, spoke to Express.co.uk about her frustrations concerning the change to her state pension age.
Ms Laycock said: “I am still waiting for the imaginary letter informing me of the changes in retirement from 60 to 66.
“If I had known of the changes in 1995, I would have made lots of changes and not made life-changing decisions too!”
Ms Laycock explained she first left school at the age of 15 to work full-time in a local woollen mill.
For the last 50 years, she has mainly worked full time, juggling childcare responsibilities with her role.
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Ms Laycock said: “I am still waiting for the imaginary letter informing me of the changes in retirement from 60 to 66.
“If I had known of the changes in 1995, I would have made lots of changes and not made life-changing decisions too!”
Ms Laycock explained she first left school at the age of 15 to work full-time in a local woollen mill.
In 2004, Ms Laycock was pleasantly surprised when her mother paid her mortgage off, allowing her to fulfil one of her childhood dreams.
Two years later, Ms Laycock decided to take a year of unpaid sabbatical to live with adults with disabilities in the US.
Inspired by this unpaid work, she decided to continue full-time until 2013, also completing a four-year social therapy course.
However, she had to return home to care for her daughter, and handed in her notice at age 48.
Now, Ms Laycock has been waiting nearly six years for the pension she expected at 60.
Her wait will come to an end once she reaches her 66th birthday next month.
However, in that time, Ms Laycock said her circumstances have been challenging.
She previously worked as a live-in carer throughout the pandemic, on a small wage.
But since contracting COVID-19 in March 2022, she has been unable to work, and also struggles with osteoarthritis.
Now, she is living off a “paltry” private pension, but says she would have paid more towards it if she had known about the state pension age changes.
Ms Laycock added: “We are easy pickings. This Government has stolen my money, time, life and health. I feel so aggrieved I cannot get back all that I have lost.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “The Government decided over 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.
“Both the High Court and Court of Appeal have supported the actions of the DWP, under successive governments dating back to 1995, and the Supreme Court refused the claimants permission to appeal.”
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