Pension Reform - do older pensioners miss out?

The comments that I have seen, on the Motley Fool's Pensions Motivation and Policy discussion board, suggest that there will not be step change, but a gradual transition. However nothing is yet law and nothing is set in concrete, so keep reading about any changes until the Act is passed.

IIRC the white paper has it as an immediate change for anyone retiring after April

It's here if you want to read it:

Probably. But she may be able to get a higher pension based on your contributions.

Sorry, what I meant was that (AIUI) only people who retire after April 2010 will need only 30 years. So she'll probably be stuck with 20/39, unless she can get more based on your contributions. But the white paper is subject to change, it's not law yet.

What would happen were she to delay starting to draw the pension by a little while? She'd get a slightly enhanced pension anyway by doing this, but would the 20/30 rule also apply?

It looks like it's the reaching of state pension age, not the point when you start to draw it.

That's my interpretation anyway - see section 3.77 of the white paper (link posted earlier).

Eh? Why is it unworkable? It's simple - everyone retiring after 6 April 2010 gets a full pension on 30 years contributions.

A gradual change combined with the women's pension age change will just make everything overly complicated (mind you that's Gordon's usual style so it'll probably go that way).