A huge update has been issued to WASPI women in the battle to win compensation for their pension age change.The government’s pensions minister says he ‘respects’ the call from the Parliamentary Ombudsman to hand out £10.5bn in compensation to 3.5M women, which would be £3,000 per woman – but that the government has chosen to take a ‘different’ approach.
WASPI women have for years been campaigning for compensation from the government over the decision to increase the state pension age for women, arguing that they were not fairly informed in due enough time to plan for their retirement. Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on Monday, pensions minister Torsten Bell defended the decision not to award compensation to 1950s born WASPI women.
He said: “We respect the work of the ombudsman, its independence and the work it does, a point many members have raised.
“In this case, we agree that the letters should have been sent sooner. We have apologised and we will learn the lessons.
““However, as everyone in this room is well aware, we do not agree with the ombudsman’s approach to injustice or remedy.”
He added that the government’s view was that the majority of WASPI women did know that the state pension age was changing, even if they didn’t yet know their specific circumstances.
He added that paying out the money to the affected women would cost £10.5bn, which in a background of welfare cuts being waged right now, would not be affordable.
He added: “Paying a flat rate to all 3.5 million women, regardless of whether they suffered injustice, would be neither fair nor proportionate.
“It would also not be affordable, as such compensation schemes would cost up to £10.5Bn.
“The government has not ignored the ombudsman’s report or its judgment. We have just come to a different conclusion for the detailed reasons.”
A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) recommended the UK Government pay compensation to women born in the 1950s whose state pension age was raised so it would be equal with men.
The watchdog also said the women should be paid up to £2,950 each, a package with a potential total cost of £10.5 billion to the public purse, as poor communication meant they had lost out on the chance to plan their retirement finances.
But the Government last December ruled out a compensation package despite Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves being among the senior ministers to support the Waspi campaign when Labour was in opposition.
Labour MPs who spoke in the Westminster Hall debate criticised the previous Tory administration for not acting on the report, before maintaining their continued support for the campaigners.
The debate came after WASPI campaigners gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Monday to step up their battle for compensation.
They are seeking a judicial review to force the Government to reconsider its decision.
Labour MP Patricia Ferguson, who said she is one of more than 4,000 Waspi women in her Glasgow West constituency, said she had hoped and expected the ombudsman’s findings would be implemented by parliamentarians.
She said: “I cannot say how disappointed I am that it did not happen. But I say gently to the minister that it is not too late to put it right.”
