Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government has taken to prevent cliff edge effects in its policy on the equalisation of the state pension.

The government has taken steps to smooth the equalisation of State Pension age between men and women in the Pensions Act 2011. The increase in State Pension age for women from age 63 to age 65 is phased in between April 2016 and December 2018.

The timetable for equalising State Pension age at 65 for women and men and for the increase to 66 was accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011 following sharp increases in life expectancy projections. At that time a concession worth £1.1 billion was introduced by the government to limit the impact of the rising state pension age on those most affected. The concession capped the maximum delay that anyone would face in claiming their State Pension to 18 months rather than two years, relative to the previous timetable.