Woman who worked from age 14 told months before retirement she had to work for SIX more years in devastating blow

A woman who worked from being just 14-year-old was told just months before retirement that she had to work for six more years in a devastating blow.

Kathleen Jolley, from Wigan, had worked in a school setting for more than 40 years and was in full-time employment from the age of 19. She had started making plans for her retirement at 59, meaning she would be able to give her full attention to her elderly mother who required care.

But after informing her employer of her plans to retire at 60, Kathleen was told the State Pension age had been increased, something she said she was never informed about, reports LancsLive.

J oin our WhatsAp p Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link .

"I have worked since I was 14 part-time and I've worked full time since I was 19 and at the time the pension age was 60 and it was always bread into you that it was 60," Kathleen said.

"I knew I always wanted to retire at 60, I was 59, my mum was 94 and my dad had passed away a few years before and my mum was diagnosed with dementia.

"I realised my mum's time was limited so I really wanted to retire at 60. So at 59 I enquired about retirement and let my boss know I was going to go at 60. It was then they mentioned something about the pension age changes."

Kathleen was told that she wouldn't be entitled to her state pension until she was 66. She was also told another pension she had would be reduced because she was retiring early.

The now 65-year-old said: "It was a bit of a double whammy, I wasn't going to be able to get my state pension and I was penalised on my other pension as well. It was quite a shock but by that time I'd been mentally working to leave at 60. I already had 44 years of full contributions, so I didn't