PCS pension officer Chris Haswell has identified key factors relating to women and the proposed pension changes. Below is a summary of her findings. This information can be used as an additional and helpful resource with campaigning activity.

There are around half a million civil servants in the UK. Just over half of all civil servants are women (53%). Almost a quarter of civil servants (21%) work part-time.

1. Increased cost – Everyone will be hit by higher contributions, particularly when there is a pay freeze and rising prices. However, with a gender pay gap in the civil service that shows men earn 15% more than women on average, this will hit women harder.

2. Work longer - The pension proposals from the government talk about people working up to 48 years for a full pension. The actual length will be linked to state pension age that will keep increasing if life expectancy figures increase, so people will never be sure when they can retire. This will make it difficult for people to plan. Women have short service now - on average around 11 years when they leave. Men tend to have longer service (14 years but weakens the gender argument). Women tend to have shorter service for a variety of reasons, often domestic. They often take unpaid maternity leave and career breaks. Part-time service can drastically impact on service, 85% of part-timers are women. For a forty year career, 10 years of maternity leave (unpaid)/career break and part time working for a few years could easily halve the service and pension.

3. Older women hit by pension age increase - Many women now in their 50s have been already given longer pension ages, 3 changes for those aged 54 now. It’s in this age group many women have to give up work - just when they are being told by the government to work longer. Whilst we do not have exact figures, PCS receives a number of calls on a regular basis from women who are forced by caring responsibilities into taking their pension and lump sum early (reduced) to look after elderly relatives or partners with health problems. This can only increase as Tory cuts mean less help for carers in the community.

4. Young women hit by cuts in childcare forcing them to reduce hours to enable them to fit in with drastically cut childcare services in the community.

5. Live longer in retirement - Women live longer than men. They are reliant on pension longer often leading them into a poverty stricken old age.

6. Get less – Your new civil service pension will be based on an ‘adequacy level’ - a technical term meaning your occupational pension plus state pension only has to reach 60% of what your final pay is. This for many will mean a lower pension for paying more