WASPI women dealt new DWP compensation blow in latest update

WASPI women have been hit with a fresh setback as the compensation bill that was set to be discussed in Parliament has been postponed.

The second reading of the State Pension Age (Compensation) Bill, originally scheduled for Friday in the House of Commons, has been deferred to May 17. The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign contends that women born in the 1950s weren't properly informed about the changes to the state pension age.

While WASPI agrees with equalising the state pension age for men and women, they claim the government failed to provide some women with sufficient time to adjust their retirement plans. Since its inception in 2015, WASPI has been fighting for compensation for around 3.6 million women affected, reports the Mirror.

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A report last month by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) concluded that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) "did not communicate changes" effectively regarding the state pension age. Although the PHSO report recommended compensation ranging from £1,000 to £2,950, the WASPI group is demanding payments upwards of £10,000.

SNP MP Alan Brown, who introduced the compensation bill, expressed his frustration today: "I am disappointed I have had to reschedule the potential second reading of the bill. This is proof that the way Westminster operates with the Government of the day being able to dictate timings needs to be overhauled."

The state pension age was previously set at 60 for women and 65 for men, but a new schedule was established under the 1995 Pensions Act to gradually equalise the state pension age for both genders. The original plan was to raise the state pension age for women to 65 between 2010 and 2020.

However, in 2010, the coalition Government decided to speed up this process and under the 2011 Pensions Act, the new state pension age of 65 for women was advanced to 2018. As of October 2020, both men and women have seen their state pension age rise to 66.