Fury as women hit by state pension age rise are denied payouts | Global News Avenue

Campaigners have expressed anger at the government’s “unreasonable” refusal to compensate women affected by changes to the state pension age.

They said 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed of the increase in the state pension age to bring them in line with men.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologized for the 28-month delay in sending the letter but rejected any form of economic spending.

Nine months ago, the parliamentary ombudsman recommended compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 for each person affected.

The Women Against State Pensions Inequality (Waspi) campaign described the government’s decision as an “insult”.

Angela Madden, chair of the campaign group, said: “The government has today made an unprecedented political choice to ignore the clear advice of the independent regulator.”

“This is a bizarre and completely unreasonable move that will leave everyone asking what the point of the ombudsman is if ministers can simply ignore their decisions.”

The Waspi campaign is calling for each person to pay at least £10,000.

But Kendall said there was evidence there was “considerable awareness” of changes to pension ages and that sending letters early would have no impact on their ability to make retirement choices.

She also said there was no evidence that the government’s decision had caused “direct financial harm” and that Labor believed “paying all women a flat rate at a cost of up to £10.5 billion would not be fair or proportionate to taxpayers”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he understood the concerns of the Wasps women but must consider whether it was right to “put a further burden on the taxpayer”.

However, former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, who pledged compensation to women in the party’s 2019 manifesto, told BBC’s Newsnight program the money would not have to be paid within a year but would instead need to be “considerable” a long period of time”.

“These WASP women … are actually taxpayers and they make huge contributions to our lives and our society,” he said.

As people live longer, the state pension age is also increasing, and is currently 66 for both men and women.

But for decades, men received their state pension at 65 and women at 60.

Under the Pensions Act 1995, a timetable was established to equalize the state pension ages for men and women. The plan is to raise the qualifying age for women to 65 and phase in the change from 2010 to 2020.

But the coalition government in 2010 decided to speed up the process. Under the Pensions Act 2011, the new qualifying age of 65 for women was brought forward to 2018.

These increases have been controversial. Campaigners say women born in the 1950s are being treated unfairly due to rapid changes and the way those affected are communicated.

Many people said they were unaware they would have to wait longer to receive their state pension and suffered financial and emotional distress as a result.

While councils and the Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO) can recommend compensation, it cannot enforce it.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said the government would set out an action plan to address the issues identified in the ombudsman’s report and provide clear notice of any future changes to the state pension age.

She said future pension communications would also use “the latest methods” to contact those affected.

Lib Dem work and pensions spokesman Steve Darling said the government had “turned its back on millions of pension-age women who have been wronged through no fault of their own”.

The Conservatives failed to respond to the ombudsman’s report while in power, with shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whatley saying ministers must “own” the decision not to pay the payments.

A petition to parliament calling for the introduction of a compensation system had garnered 135,000 signatures as of Tuesday’s announcement.

The Hornets campaign and others highlighted comments made by the prime minister and Kendall before taking the stage.

Both spoke about the “injustice” faced by women, posting this in 2019 Still on the latter’s website.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “The fact that many of the affected women will also face the loss of their winter fuel allowance this year will exacerbate their sense of injustice.”

However, not everyone criticized the government’s decision. Pensions adviser John Ralph said it was the correct and “inevitable” response from the Department for Work and Pensions.