There was standing room only after hundreds of women from across Stroud gathered to hear about pension changes and share about how changes in pension age are already affecting them and their families.

David Drew, Labour MP for the Stroud constituency, had written to over 5,000 women in Stroud inviting them to the meeting at St Laurence Church, held in conjunction with the Stroud district WASPI group (Women Against State Pension Inequality).

The response was overwhelming, with the queue for the church stretching down the Shambles, and around 500 women listening intently, some sitting on the floor, others standing in the aisles.

Changes to women's pension ages have been speeded up after a parliamentary act in 2011, leaving women born in the 1950s little time to prepare for their financial future.

In some cases, women are now having to work up to six more years than they had expected before they are eligible for their state pension, and are thousands of pounds worse off.

"Many women are now left in a situation where they are finding it difficult to balance the books. Many women who are over 60 are falling into poverty. It's like having the rug pulled out from under your feet, the changes came too late in our lives and careers for us to be able to deal with the repercussions," Cheryl Butterworth of Stroud district WASPI group told the packed audience.

The WASPI group, supports equalisation of the pension age for men and women, but says the changes have been implemented faster than promised and is calling for a 'bridging' pension to provide an income until State Pension Age for the women who have had no time to make alternative plans.

David Drew MP (pictured right) encouraged women to get involved with the WASPI campaign.

"I was overwhelmed at the response and would like to thank everyone who came along. It was an indication of how much this is disrupting the lives of women and their families, and how little information they have had," he said.

"The evening was about informing women, but also hearing about how women in Stroud have been affected. A lot of women are suddenly finding they have to wait, four, five or even six years longer to be eligible for a state pension.

"It's a change which hits lower paid women and manual workers particularly hard and we've seen a big rise in the numbers of women forced to claim other benefits. Nationally, the number of women aged over 60 claiming Employment Support Allowance has increased by 400 per cent from August 2013 to August 2017.

"We want to gather the evidence of the real hardship this is causing and present it to government, to demonstrate that it has to act."

Women's state pension age was changed from 60 to 65 in the Pensions Act 1995. The ages were increased again and accelerated after a parliamentary act in 2011, leaving women born in the 1950s little time to prepare for their financial future. In some cases, women are now having to work up to six more years than they had expected before they are eligible for their state pension, and are thousands of pounds worse off.

A bill calling for a review of women's arrangements and a compensation scheme has been presented by the All Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women and is scheduled to have its Second Reading on 15 June 2018.

Here at Punchline we believe this is another big headache the government is sleep walking into. They need to get a handle of this issue quickly - Brexit will be walk in the park compared to taking on this pension ticking time bomb.

What do you think email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk.