On the go: The BackTo60 group has been granted leave to appeal a High Court decision, and will be taking its fight against state pension age rises for 1950s-born women to the court of appeal.
The claimants argued that women born in the 1950s, affected by the 1995 and 2011 Pensions Act changes, were unfairly treated by increases to the state pension age to 66 taking place between 2010 and 2020. The campaigners also said the changes were not adequately communicated.
In the judgment handed down in October, Lord Justice Irwin and Mrs Justice Whipple said: “We are saddened by the stories we read in the evidence lodged by the claimants. But our role as judges in this case is limited. There is no basis for concluding that the policy choices reflected in this legislation were not open to government.”
Speaking on behalf of the group, Joanne Welch, founder and director of BackTo60, told Pensions Expert: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been granted leave on all grounds to appeal.”
According to Ms Welch, the case has become all the more urgent as one of the claimants is receiving medical treatment for cancer.
Some 3.8m women born in the 1950s have fought a long campaign against the state pension age increases. Currently at 65, the state pension age for both men and women will be 66 in October.
The government has also agreed to nominate a representative for a UK Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The BackTo60 group is campaigning to ensure a nomination is in place by March 6.
A date for the hearing has yet to be fixed, but it will take place no later than February 25 2021, according to the Ministry of Justice Case Tracker for Civil Appeals.
