The government has U-turned on plans to raise the state pension age in 2020 in a £1.1bn concession after the move was criticised for being unfair to hundreds of thousands of women.
Nearly half a million people would have been affected by the plans to raise the pension age by five years, from 60-65 by 2018, before it became 66 by 2020.
Some 33,000 women would have been particularly affected by equalising the retirement age two years earlier than planned, as it would mean they would have to wait an extra two years to claim their pension. The plans will now be delayed by six months.
Tory MP Claire Perry said she and other Conservative MPs had "lobbied hard" against the plans - and had gained a "£1.1bn concession" from the government.
"I'm very excited about this pensions concession today. There's a lot of MPs on our benches, men and women, who are very focused on women", she told Huff Post UK.
"On the pensions arrangements there's been quite a lot of pragmatic, fact-based lobbying by Conservative MPs to get the government to move these transitional pension arrangments. And what they've said is that they will cap the increase at 18 months and it benefits 245,000 women and 240,000 men and it reduces the total savings by £1.1bn. It's a £1bn concession.
"This is what we do, we're in government so we're not going to stand up and flag off ministers in public, but we go and see them and say 'this is completely wrong'. We'e all been saying 'you need to go and look again'. The government listens to sensible, pragmatic lobbying."
Age UK welcomed the news but said they wanted changes to go further: "This will give a much needed six month respite to all the women who would have had to work an extra two years", said charity director Michelle Mitchell.
“We would have liked the changes being made to have gone further. Having faced uncertainty twice already these women must not be affected by any further changes to their state pension age again without sufficient notice.”
The news will be seen as part of the coalition's plan to win back female voters. Other recent announcements include childcare help for families and the criminilisation of forced marriage.
Tories have recently lost support among female voters after a range of gaffes from ministers with their MPs admitting there is a danger of women "falling out of love with the Conservative party".
Female unemployment is also at its highest since 1988, and there are fears the government's cuts will hit women hardest.
David Cameron hinted at a U-turn yesterday, telling the House of Commons yesterday the government was "looking at what transitional help we can give to this group of people".
"We know a large group of people are affected by this transition and some people will potentially have to work for an extra two years", he said.
Labour have also been campaigning against the state pension changes, with Rachel Reeves labelling the changes as " profoundly and arbitrarily unfair":
She said today she was "delighted" by the news but urged the government to further: "There's still a big financial hit that women in their late 50s are going to have to absorb. 330,000 women are still going to have to wait 18 months before they get their state pension, and 500,000 women are going to have to wait for more than a year. This could cost people up to about £11,000.
"I would have liked the government to go further. I would like the cap to have been at one year, rather than 18 months, so no one has to wait for more than a year longer before they get their state pension, but that said I am pleased that the lobbying effort has had some impact, and with just 4 days to go before the Pensions Bill has its third and final reading, that the government have thought again", she told Radio 4's The World At One.
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: “We have listened to the concerns of those women most affected by the proposed rise in state pension age to 66 and so we will cap the increase to a maximum of 18 months. We have always made clear that we would manage any change fairly and ensure any transition is as smooth as possible.”