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Gender Pension Gap
19 April 2021
Lead MP
Patricia Gibson
Debate Type
Adjournment Debate
Tags
TaxationEmploymentBenefits & WelfareWomen & Equalities
Other Contributors: 1
At a Glance
Patricia Gibson raised concerns about gender pension gap in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Opened the debate
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.
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
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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