WASPI women have been campaigning for years against the way changes to their State Pension age were implemented
The Prime Minister has indicated that 1950s-born women impacted by State Pension age alterations could soon receive news regarding a compensation scheme. Keir Starmer said that Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (DWP), is expected to provide an update “in the not too distant future” for the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI).
During his visit to the G20 summit in Brazil, when questioned by the press about the delay in State Pension age compensation, the Prime Minister said: “The DWP secretary will be making a statement on this in the not too distant future. Obviously it’s a very serious report, and the response will be set out by the DWP Secretary.”
Last week, Ms Kendall informed the Work and Pensions Committee of her commitment to addressing the State Pension age compensation issue for WASPI women “as soon as possible”. The head of the DWP described the situation as “extremely complicated”, acknowledging the vast amount of information to review but emphasised that the government “needs to get it right”.
READ MORE: Storm Bert deaths as two men killed after red weather alert issuedREAD MORE: Get a free National Trust day pass for your family day out this winter!
WASPI women have been campaigning for years against the “unfair” way changes to their State Pension age (from 60 to 65) were implemented. They say many impacted women were given “little or no notice” of the changes, throwing their retirement plans into turmoil and leaving them struggling financially.
A March report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) concluded that the women affected should have been given at least 28 months’ additional individual notice by the DWP regarding the changes to their State Pension age.
The report also highlighted that women who were unaware of the changes lost the opportunity to adjust their retirement plans due to delay. The report stated “Parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for providing that appropriate remedy” and suggested compensation equivalent to Level four on its banding scale, which is worth between £1,000 and £2,950, reports the Daily Record.
Angela Madden, Chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), responded to the Prime Minister’s comments saying: “We welcome the Prime Minister’s assurances today that an update on WASPI compensation will come ‘in the not too distant future’. Frankly, an update cannot come soon enough.”
She added: “The Chancellor rightly acted quickly to compensate victims of the Post Office and infected blood scandal in last month’s Budget but WASPI women were left behind. Only the Government has the power to put this historic injustice right and we urge ministers to set out their proposals to compensate a generation of women who had their retirement plans ripped up at the last minute as quickly as possible.”
During DWP questions in Parliament on November 11, Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling also pressed the DWP for a timescale on a response to the Ombudsman’s report.
During a Commons session, an MP highlighted the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign and the parliamentary ombudsman’s findings, asking: “Will the Secretary of State (Liz Kendall) commit to making a statement in the House before Christmas on progress with her review of the Ombudsman’s report? ” In response, Pensions minister Emma Reynolds MP addressed the Lib Dem work and pensions spokesperson, stating: “The Ombudsman took six years to consider a range of complex cases, and we are looking at their complexity. I was the first Minister in six years to meet representatives of the WASPI campaign.”
She added: “We hope to be able to update the House in the coming weeks.” Previously, Ms Reynolds confirmed that the DWP had been “considering the costs of setting up a compensation scheme” for women born in the 1950s affected by changes to their State Pension age.
