ANGRY women are causing a storm in South Lakeland as part of a campaign against what they claim is state pension inequality.

Women in their 60s gathered together in Market Place, Kendal, on Tuesday to raise awareness about the Government’s state pension arrangements imposed on women born in the 1950s.

The organisation Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) was founded in 2015 after many women found out they would have to wait six years longer for their state pension, a change many claimed they were not notified about.

Fiona Atkinson, 63, a former head of English at Lakes School, Troutbeck Bridge said women her age had been ‘treated scornfully’ by the government.

“Our generation have faced constant challenges,” she said. “Inequality in the class room, inequality in work, this is simply the last straw.”

The women did not oppose age equalisation or seek to reverse the Pension Act but were angry that the age increase from 60 to 66 was introduced with little or no notice by the government.

WASPI claim that there are more than 3.5 million women who are affected by the lack of notice of the 1995 and 2011 Pensions Acts.

Sue Ireland, 65, who worked from the age of 15 and paid National Insurance said she was looking forward to retiring and spending more quality time with the grandchildren, but recently had to go back to work.

“I had so many plans for when I retired,” she said “I wanted to try out new things but now that’s had to be pushed back, otherwise we wouldn’t survive.”

Christina Barnett, 64, a WASPI representative, said people her age should not be starting a new job. “It’s an insult to us in a way if we come back to work to do a job that is below our usual status,” she said. “And it’s now difficult for the younger generation to get a job because we are in the way, but give us our pensions as we were entitled to before and we will go away.” Mrs Atkinson said many women affected by the changes have lost their homes and some have become homeless because of it.

“There are many we know who are facing this alone,” she said “Some who aren’t married or whose husbands have died have had to rely on food banks and other means, it’s unfair.

“The government want us to go away but we’re not going away until this is resolved and we get a compensation.”

To join the group email: waspilancasterandslakes@hotmail.com