DWP confirms State Pension age compensation delay for millions of WASPI women (original) (raw)

Millions of women born in the 1950s impacted by changes to their State Pension age face further delays on any proposed plans for compensation. During several exchanges in Parliament on Monday, Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds repeatedly said that due to the “complex” final report published on March 21 by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), ‘time is needed’ to review the findings and recommendations.

Labour MP Chris Webb also pressed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall to “act urgently, unlike the previous Government, and bring this injustice to an end”. In response, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) boss highlighted how she had previously met with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign before the election and that Ms Reynolds was the “Minister for Pensions was the first Minister to meet them in eight years”.

Ms Kendall assed: “It really is a serious report that requires serious consideration. We will do everything possible to get this issue resolved as soon as possible.”

Labour MP Mohammad Yasin urged the DWP to give an estimated 3.6 million women affected by changes to their retirement age a date to expect a response to the PHSO report and a compensation plan. He said: “I have long supported women in Bedford born in the 1950s who have been failed by the DWP. We must do right by the WASPI women, some of whom are struggling to make ends meet.

“Will the Minister tell them today when the Government will respond to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which recommended a compensation scheme?”

The Pensions Minister replied: “The Ombudsman’s report is a serious report that took six years to complete and deserves serious consideration. We are carefully reviewing the details of that complex report and will come to a conclusion in the round.”

Following up, Green Party Co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP also pressed for a timescale on a compensation plan for the “serious injustice” to WASPI women which is being “compounded by the lack of swift action for redress”.

He added: “Will the Minister please set out the timescale by which she will respond to the report and the action that will be taken?”

Ms Reynolds replied: “The ombudsman took six years to look into what is a serious, significant and complex set of cases. We need time to look at that seriously, and we are doing precisely that.”

Conservative MP Sir Julian Lewis acknowledged the ‘complexity’ of the PHSO report and pushed: “May I ask for a statement in principle that the Government will eventually offer significant compensation to the WASPI women?”

Repeating her previous answers on how it has taken six years for the PHSO to complete its investigation, Ms Reynolds said: “We are looking into it very seriously, but I cannot make any announcements today.”

State Pension age compensation in a nutshell

The Ombudsman 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.

The PHSO report found that affected women should have had at least 28 months’ more individual notice of the changes by the DWP.

It also said that for women who were not aware of the changes, the opportunity that additional notice would have given them to adjust their retirement plans was lost due to delay.

Based on current Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, an estimated 3.5 million 1950s-born women have been affected by increases to the official age of retirement.

The PHSO report stated that “Parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for providing that appropriate remedy” and recommended compensation equivalent to Level four on its banding scale, which is worth between £1,000 and £2,950.

WASPI Protest

The WASPI campaign has announced that a demonstration will take place in Parliament Square on Wednesday, October 30 to coincide with the Labour Government’s Autumn Budget.

The House of Commons will be packed with MPs from across Great Britain to hear Chancellor Rachel Reeves deliver her first Budget as Chancellor.

The ‘WASPI can’t wait - compensate’ demo will be held between 12 and 3pm.

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