The number of new female claims for state pension benefits has fallen by 202,000 in one year following changes to the state pension age, new Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures have shown.
In its Benefits statistical summary: February 2019, the DWP has revealed that the overall number of state pension recipients in August 2018 dropped by 113,000, in comparison to August 2017, to 12.8 million.
In it's report, the DWP explained: “This fall is mostly because of a decrease in the number of new female claimants of state pension, relating to rises in state pensions age.”
Although the number of male state pension recipients increased by 89,000, the amount of female claimants fell by 202,000.
Furthermore, the number of pension credit recipients also decreased, by 130,000 to 1.7 million, “partly due to equalisation of state pension age, which results in the pension credit qualifying age increasing, among other factors”.
Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of pension credit recipients were women.
In 2011, an agreement was reached to increase the state pension age for women to 65 by November 2018, before a further increase to the state pension age for both men and women, up to 66, which is set to take effect by 2020.
Commenting, Aegon head of pensions, Kate Smith said: “Today’s DWP benefits figures also show a significant fall in the number of women claiming the state pension as result of the equalisation of state pension age.
“This highlights a gender pensions gap, which will only be exacerbated by the future age increases in the state pension age and should prompt women to think about how much they’ll need to save privately for a comfortable retirement.”
DWP's report also revealed that the average weekly state pension takings increased by £5.48 from last year to £143.82.
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories