The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign has secured astounding public backing, with their online petition amassing over 132,000 signatures demanding that the UK Government “fairly compensate” 1950s-born women affected by State Pension age adjustments. The campaigners are urgently calling for government action on the final report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and are pushing for a compensation framework to be in place by March 21, 2015.
Despite the growing clamour, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has evaded committing to a specific timetable for a verdict on the PHSO’s findings or confirming the potential for a compensation package. In a December 10 written response, the Department stated: “The Government is reviewing the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report and once this work has been undertaken, will be in a position to outline its approach.”
The petition, titled ‘Introduce a compensation scheme for WASPI women’, demands: “We call on the Government to fairly compensate WASPI women affected by the increases to their State Pension age and the associated failings in DWP communications. We want the Government to urgently respond to the PHSO report and set up a compensation scheme by 21 March 2025.”
Furthermore, in March 2024, the PHSO stressed that women born in the 1950s deserved not only financial compensation but also an apology for the oversight attributed to DWP mismanagement, reports the Daily Record.
“The Ombudsman’s findings were backed by the cross-party Work and Pensions Select Committee, hundreds of MPs and, according to our polling, 68 per cent of the public. However, only the Government has the power to put this injustice right.”
The DWP‘s response explained that “changes to the State Pension age were made over a series of Acts, starting with the Pensions Act 1995 to equalise State Pension age” and that the “Pensions Act 2007 brought forward recommendations of the Pensions Commission that the State Pension age should be increased to reflect increases in life expectancy and legislated to increase State Pension age to 68 over a thirty-year period”.
The DWP added: “The Pensions Act 2011 and 2014 accelerated these timetables. In addition, the Pensions Act 2014 legislated to introduce periodic reviews of State Pension age. Each Act followed detailed consideration of the issues through public consultations.”
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has made it clear that the final report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), dated 21 March 2024, is not about the alterations to the State Pension age itself but focuses on how the DWP communicated those changes with certain women’s groups. They stated: “The PHSO have been investigating the way DWP communicated State Pension age changes from 1995 onwards impacting 1950s-born women. The Ombudsman published their report on 21 March 2024, the culmination of almost 6 years’ work.”
“The PHSO has laid the report before Parliament and the Government is carefully considering the report. It is a serious report that requires serious consideration and the Government recognises it is important to do so as quickly as possible. In addition, there have been a number of recent debates and questions in Parliament on the issue.”
Asserting its commitment to a reasoned review of the findings, DWP added: “As part of its consideration, the Government is listening respectfully to the women involved. The Minister for Pensions recently met representatives from WASPI Ltd, the first Minister to do so for 8 years, and has also met with the co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women and with the interim Ombudsman.”
Concluding, the DWP affirmed: “Government respects the work of the Ombudsman and it is actively considering the report. Once this work has been undertaken, it will be in a position to outline its approach.”
“This Government is absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve. The State Pension provides the foundation income for people in retirement.”
Having surpassed the 100,000 signature mark, the petition has now qualified for consideration by the Petitions Committee for a potential debate in Parliament. The full petition and the DWP‘s response can be accessed on the petitions-parliament website here.
