Women who lost out in the state pension age rise must be compensated now, a landmark report has said as it criticised the government for failing to inform them about changes.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has recommended that the government pay those affected compensation as it concludes that the department for work and pensions (DWP) has “not acknowledged its failings nor put things right for those women affected.”
It comes after long-awaited report into how women lost out on money due to increases in their pension age was published.
It said: “DWP has also failed to offer any apology or explanation for its failings and has indicated it will not compensate women affected by its failure.
It also added that DWP’s “handling of the changes” meant “some women lost opportunities to make informed decisions about their finances. It diminished their sense of personal autonomy and financial control.”
The publication of the report follows decades of campaigning by women who say millions have lost out due to the change and need compensation after their retirement plans were harmed by the change.
Women born in the 1950s were told they would have to wait longer for their state pension when changes to the state pension age to equalise it across genders were accelerated in 2010.
The ombudsman has been investigating the issue for five years with the first stage, published in 2021, saying the Government was slow in informing women how they would be affected by the change.
Campaigners for Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign (Waspis) gather at the statue of political activist Mary Barbour
(PA Wire)
The next part of the report could make recommendations on compensation.
PHSO Chief Executive Rebecca Hilsenrath, said:
“The UK’s national Ombudsman has made a finding of failings by DWP in this case and has ruled that the women affected are owed compensation. DWP has clearly indicated that it will refuse to comply. This is unacceptable. The department must do the right thing and it must be held to account for failure to do so.
“Complainants should not have to wait and see whether DWP will take action to rectify its failings. Given the significant concerns we have that it will fail to act on our findings and given the need to make things right for the affected women as soon as possible, we have proactively asked parliament to intervene and hold the department to account.
“Parliament now needs to act swiftly, and make sure a compensation scheme is established. We think this will provide women with the quickest route to remedy.”
Waspi chairwoman Angela Madden told the BBC: “It is now for each political party to put their money where their mouth is and support compensation of that order.
“Waspi women are watching and waiting to see whether politicians who have long supported the campaign will now deliver.”
More to follow…
