Introduce a compensation scheme for WASPI women

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 PHSO report and set up a compensation scheme by 21 March 2025.

In March 2024, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said 1950s-born women were owed financial redress and an apology due to DWP maladministration.

The Ombudsman’s findings were backed by the cross-party Work and Pensions Select Committee, hundreds of MPs and, according to our polling, 68% of the public. However, only the Government has the power to put this injustice right.

We have calculated that with one affected woman dying every 13 minutes, there is no time for further delay.

Changes to the State Pension age were made over a series of Acts, starting with the Pensions Act 1995 to equalise State Pension age. 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 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 Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) report is not about changes to the State Pension age. 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 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.

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.