State pension age protest – in pictures

Shadow pensions minister Rachel Reeves MP (centre) was one of the protesters. The new proposed retirement timetable, which is included in the pensions bill currently going through parliament, means that 500,000 women will have to work an extra year or more before drawing their state pension, 33,000 will have to work an extra two years Photograph: Felix Clay/Guardian

Jill Croxall, 57, from Gloucester (left), said: 'I will have to work another 22 months. When I was 25 I wanted to retire at 55, and I saved in an occupational pension scheme and invested in AVCs, but they have not performed as well as I expected thanks to tax changes by successive governments. I may also be made redundant – I work for the department of work and pensions, and at the same time they’re messing with the civil service pension.
Patsy Toleman, 57, from Gloucester (right), said: 'I was going to retire at 64. I understand that there needs to be equalisation [of the state pension age] between men and women, but we do need to be given time to prepare. To make matters worse I work for a council that’s going to shed one in six jobs. It’s harder to find a job at my age.'
Patsy visited her local MP, Richard Graham (Conservative). Did she convince him to vote against the proposals?
'He's sympathetic, but he’s a new MP and wants to make his mark.' Photograph: Felix Clay/Guardian

Barbara Bates, 57, from Shildon, County Durham.
’I work as an administrator in a funeral home and will have to work an extra 100 weeks. I have no private pension – I’m relying totally on the state pension. I’ve worked since I was 15 apart from a few years when I looked after my husband, and the idea that I have to work longer is absolutely devastating.
’I have osteoarthritis in my thumbs and wrists now, which makes the lifting and cleaning work in my job harder.
'My MP is Helen Goodman (Labour). I know she’s very sympathetic and she says that when it comes to the vote, she will vote against this change. I found out about the proposal last November and contacted my union. I’ve been protesting about it ever since.’ Photograph: Felix Clay/Guardian

Rachel Reeves, aged 32, MP for Leeds West and the shadow pensions minister.
'The government is unfairly targeting women with this sudden rise in the state pension age, leaving them little time to plan. In doing so, they are clearly breaching the coalition agreement. If these plans become law, they will leave women with little time to prepare for their retirement – and many of them are not in a position to rely on occupational pensions savings.
'The government has seen opposition to the plan, and talk of delay to the pensions bill offers some hope that they are listening.' Photograph: Felix Clay/Guardian

Paul and Mari-Anne Cox, aged 60 and 57. Mari-Anne and Paul have been unemployed since the end of 2009, and despite filling in countless applications and attending interviews, have been unable to find work. The couple, who worked as and accounts clerk and lorry driver respectively, are sure that age is the reason they have been rejected by so many employers. They are living on benefits and are dismayed at the prospect of having to wait even longer for the state pension. ‘We’ve put our house up for sale but the market is flat and there’s no interest right now,’ said Mari-Anne. ‘If we can sell, we will pay off the mortgage and move to a smaller place in Poole with the money left over. We have worked hard all our lives and this has happened to us through no fault of our own.’ Mari-Anne said the couple wrote to their local MP Robert Syms (Conservative) when the changes were announced, and found him ‘very unsympathetic then, but he was listening when we met him today’. Photograph: Felix Clay/Guardian

Yvonne Swingler, aged 55, from Birmingham.
‘I’m better off than many, in that I will have to work an extra 12 months, but I’m still devastated. I’ve worked full-time from the age of 15 and brought up three children so I’ve had very little time to myself.
’I joined the company’s final salary scheme when I was 35 but that was recently closed. It’s defined contribution now, and it won’t grow in the same way. I don’t know how much pension income I will end up with – I have no idea what is going to happen in the future.’ Photograph: Felix Clay/Guardian