Commons Sense

House of Commons · Adjournment Debate

Gender Pension Gap

19 April 2021 · 1 other contributor

Opened by Patricia Gibson SNP North Ayrshire and Arran

Benefits & WelfareWomen & Equalities

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Patricia Gibson raised concerns about gender pension gap in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • The hon. Member Patricia Gibson highlighted the gender pension gap at 40.3%, significantly higher than the gender pay gap of 17.3%.
  • Gibson noted the impact of raised state pension age on women, particularly those born in the 1950s (WASPI women), and called for improvements in pension credit uptake and the removal of the lower earnings threshold.
  • The Minister for Pensions acknowledged the importance of addressing the gender pension gap and outlined measures such as automatic enrolment reforms and new state pension reforms.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Patricia Gibson SNP North Ayrshire and Arran

The hon. Member Patricia Gibson highlighted the gender pension gap, which stands at a shameful 40.3%, more than double the gender pay gap of 17.3%. She noted the impact on women's state pension age being raised and the discrimination inherent in various types of pension provision such as state pensions, workplace pensions or private pensions. Gibson emphasised that women born in the 1950s (WASPI women) have suffered due to accelerated state pension ages, and she called for better uptake of pension credit and removal of the lower earnings threshold which disproportionately affects women. She also suggested a family carer's top-up, allowing all women who are looking after their children to claim state pension credit, and urged for the automatic enrolment threshold to be reduced to cover those earning less than £10,000.

Other contributors (1)
  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    The hon. Member Jim Shannon acknowledged the work done by successive Governments on automatic enrolment and highlighted its positive impact in his constituency.

Government Response

Guy Opperman

The Minister for Pensions, Guy Opperman, congratulated Patricia Gibson on securing the debate and acknowledged the importance of addressing the gender pension gap. He outlined several measures his Government has taken to address this issue including automatic enrolment reforms, new state pension reforms, improving workplace pension participation for women and low earners, and efforts to remove the lower earnings limit. The Minister also addressed the Relief at Source (RAS) tax arrangements, announced a call for evidence on pensions tax relief administration, and committed to addressing issues related to self-employed retirement solutions through trialling research programmes and incorporating them into HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme.

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