State Pension compensation delay to continue for millions of WASPI women affected by retirement age changes
Millions of women born in the 1950s face further delays in finding out when - or even if - a compensation plan will be proposed by the Labour Government before the end of this year. In several responses to MP’s queries about a redress timetable and a parliamentary vote on the matter, Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds repeatedly stated that the newly formed Labour Government “will need time to review and consider” the recommendations made by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) in its final report published in March.
The initial delay on a proposed redress plan for an estimated 3.6 million women impacted by changes to their State Pension age was due to the general election, however, responding in writing to Labour MP Kim Johnsons, the Pensions Minister said: “Now the election has concluded we need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides.”
Ms Reynolds continued: “The issues outlined in the report are significant and complex, as such they require serious deliberation. Once this work has been undertaken, the Government will be in a position to outline its approach.”
READ MORE: New State Pension age change compensation update after WASPI women meet DWP minister
In another response to Lib Dem MP Ben Maguire, she highlighted how the Ombudsman’s report published on March 21, 2024 “estimated that providing compensation to all 1950s women at the level 4 range would cost between around £3.5 and £10.5bn”.
Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan also asked about a planned timetable for a response to the PHSO recommendations.
Ms Reynolds also confirmed in all three responses that she had met with representatives of the the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign on September 5.
Angela Madden Chair of the WASPI campaign, recently said that a meeting with the new Pensions Minister “is the start of something” on the ongoing fight for ‘fair and fast compensation’ for all women impacted by changes to their State Pension age.
The meeting between Emma Reynolds and WASPI representatives was held in private at Westminster. However, appearing on BBC Breakfast last week Ms Madden explained how the campaign for justice has been running for nearly 10 years and this was the first time a meeting with a Pensions Minister had taken place to discuss taking the recommendations made by the PHSO forward.
The WASPI Chair said: “Our campaign has been going for nearly 10 years now and this is the first meeting we've had with a Pensions Minister. So that’s quite significant.
“We certainly felt listened to, Emma Reynolds is new in this job and she very much was listening, gathering information and understanding our position. She’s certainly got the official information, she’s read the reports (PHSO) and knows we appeared at the Work and Pensions Committee meeting earlier in May.”
Parliament is due to rise on September 12 and will not sit again until October 7 due to party conference time.
The final report published by the PHSO on March 21 found that the DWP had been guilty of ‘maladministration’ by failing to let women know that their State Pension age was due to increase from 60 to 65, then 66.
It said that “Parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for providing that appropriate remedy” and recommended compensation equivalent to Level 4 on its banding scale, which is worth between £1,000 and £2,950.
Polling carried out ahead of the election indicated that 68 per cent of the British public said that ‘fair and fast compensation’ should now be paid to 3.6 million women who received little or no notice of changes to their State Pension age.
Early Day Motion
The deputy leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Wendy Chamberlain MP, tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) on July 17, which has been signed by 90 MPs in total - the majority being Lib Dems.
It reads: "That this House notes with concern the losses borne by 1950s women as a result of maladministration by the Department for Work and Pensions; welcomes the findings of the independent inquiry of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; further notes that on average over 100 1950s born women die daily, many of whom have suffered losses and die without compensation; and urges the Government to honour the recommendations of the Ombudsman, and come forward with a proper plan to compensate these women."