Women hit by state pension age change say £3,000 compensation is not enough
Thousands of Waspi women are waiting for a response from the Government on whether they will receive compensation after DWP’s failure to communicate state pension changes “ruined” their lives.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has asked Parliament to intervene and “act swiftly” to make sure a compensation scheme is established.
A report by the ombudsman concluded affected women should be awarded up to £2,950 in compensation – a figure campaign groups say falls short of what they hoped for.
A No.10 spokesman said: “The Government will now consider the ombudsman’s report and respond to their recommendations formally in due course, and we will also co-operate with the parliamentary process as we have done throughout with the ombudsman.”
In its report published on Thursday the PHSO took a “rare but necessary step”, to recommend that Parliament step in to work out how to compensate the women affected, because of its doubts over the Department of Work and Pensions’ willingness to provide a remedy.
From 1948 until 2010, the state pension age was 60 for women and 65 for men – but a law change in 1995 ruled the women’s pension age would increase to 65 between 2010 and 2020.
The campaign Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) says as many as 3.8 million women were not made aware of the age change – and were forced to delay retirement without adequate warning.
Labour is understood to be considering its own response to the Ombudsman that has recommended Waspi women be paid £2,950 in compensation.
Waspi campaigners said it is time for supportive politicians to “put their money where their mouth is” with “a proper compensation package”.
Waspi chair Angela Madden said there are parallels with high-profile miscarriage of justice cases in recent years such as the Post Office and Windrush scandals, and said the Government had caused “great harm to Waspi women”.
She told the PA news agency: “They’ve ruined our lives. It’s worth a heck of a lot more than one or two grand.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride is likely to appear in the House of Commons before the Easter recess to address the ombudsman’s recommendations, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt suggested.
The ombudsman investigated complaints that, since 1995, DWP has failed to provide accurate, adequate and timely information about changes to the state pension age and to how workers build up credits.
The ombudsman published stage one of its investigation in July 2021. It found failings in the way DWP communicated changes to women’s state pension age.
The DWP’s handling of the pension age changes meant some women lost opportunities to make informed decisions about their finances. It diminished their sense of personal autonomy and financial control, the ombudsman said.
In addition to paying compensation, the ombudsman made it clear the DWP should acknowledge its failings and apologise for the impact it has had on complainants and others similarly affected.
The ombudsman cannot itself order compensation, so it will be for the Government to determine the terms of a redress scheme.
By Fran Ivens and PA
05:37 PM GMT
Key moments from the day
That’s the end of today’s live blog, thanks for staying with us.
Come back to the Telegraph for more updates on the Waspi campaign as the story continues.
You can find highlights from the day here:
Read our breakdown of the decades-long row
Latest news that the Government is considering compensation for Waspi women
Why Ben Wilkinson believes Waspis don’t deserve a penny
Women born in the 1950s detail their feelings of betrayal
04:08 PM GMT
Labour won’t commit itself to Waspi payouts
Sir Keir Starmer is urging the Government to give its verdict on the PHSO report but has stopped short of committing Labour to implementing its recommendations.
Labour is understood to be considering its own response to the Ombudsman that has recommended Waspi women be paid £2,950 in compensation.
A source told the Telegraph the Labour leader won’t be pushed into making promises and the party “won’t make any unfunded spending commitments”.
Jeremy Corbyn pledged to pay compensation to the Waspi women in his 2019 manifesto. But Sir Keir has since wiped the slate clean, and has made no such commitment himself.
03:20 PM GMT
Meet the women affected: ‘I am sad for all the women who have died in the meantime’
Shirley Dunn, 70, had to delay her retirement by four years as a result of the changes. She worked as a childminder, and separated from her husband just after she turned 60, leaving her in financial difficulty.
She said: “I didn’t know anything about the deferments to 64. I was never sent a letter, never saw it in the news or anything like that. My friend at the time worked for the civil service, and she told me about it.”
Ms Dunn said that she thinks that the compensation is “wonderful”, but that she is “sad for all the women who have died in the meantime”.
She questioned whether it would be possible for the relatives of those women to receive payouts. But the former childminder said she was worried about where the money would come from.
She said: “I do wonder if there’s a general election, whether whoever is in power will see it through. Where’s the money going to come from? It’s a lot of money.”
03:16 PM GMT
Telegraph readers in favour of compensation for Waspi women
A poll on the Telegraph has found that readers are overwhelmingly in favour of Waspi women receiving compensation after years of campaigning.
Nearly two-thirds of readers (63pc) said they supported awards being given, compared to the 37pc who are against it.
In total, 7,752 readers had responded to the poll at the time of writing.
02:58 PM GMT
Pensions Management Institute says DWP failure to co-operate a ‘case for concern’
Tim Middleton, the director of policy and external affairs at the Pensions Management Institute, said:
“It is now 27 years since the changes to women’s State Pension Age were enacted, so it is a matter of grave concern that this dispute remains unresolved.
“Given that the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has now ruled in favour of the Waspi women, we would have expected the DWP [Department for Work and Pensions] to respect the ruling and to have agreed to pay compensation. It is a further cause for concern that the DWP has refused to co-operate.
“Whilst we must all recognise the need to increase State Pension Age, it is important that the Government manages the transition in a manner that is fair and lawful and that those are entitled to compensation are not required to wait any longer.”
02:55 PM GMT
Government considering compensation for women hit by state pension age change
The Government will consider compensating thousands of women who suffered injustice over the way that changes to their state pension age were communicated.
Speaking in Parliament, Commons leader Penny Mordaunt urged the Department for Work and Pensions to review recommendations put forward by the Parliament and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) in a report released on Thursday.
Describing it as a “rare but necessary step”, the PHSO recommended that Parliament step in to work out how to compensate the women affected.
Read our full story here.
02:48 PM GMT
Labour MP says recommended compensation is ‘far from enough’
The Ombudsman has today called for compensation for 1000s of women affected by the state pension changes.
That is absolutely right, but I am concerned the recommended compensation is far from enough.
I will be pushing for fair compensation and justice for the @WASPI_Campaign.— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) March 21, 2024
02:36 PM GMT
Meet the women affected: ‘No other person in the country, other than the Waspi women, is aware of how much their mortality is basically in the Government’s hands’
Dee Kearney, who will receive her state pension when she turns 66 in the summer, said the cost of not knowing that she would have to wait to retire has cost her family £57,000.
She discovered in 2017 that she would not be able to retire at 60, and has since become involved in the Waspi campaign.
The former theatre production designer and business advisor said that the rumoured compensation, of up to £2,950, which has been recommended by the Ombudsman, would not be enough.
Mrs Kearney said: “If you want to look at the actual damages done to women, besides the financial, besides the poverty, besides the illness, the emotional damage and watching each day that another 60 women have died and wondering if you are next.
“No other person in the country, other than the Waspi women, is aware of how much their mortality is basically in the Government’s hands.”
02:25 PM GMT
SNP backs Waspi women
Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader, has said Waspi women have “the full support” of the SNP and that they have been vindicated by the Ombudsman’s report.
#WASPI women have been vindicated by @PHSOmbudsman's damning report.
Westminster's continued refusal to provide compensation to women affected is shocking.
They thought @WASPI_Campaign women would just go away.
They haven't. They won't. And they have @theSNP's full support. pic.twitter.com/qYTUpAXEsS— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) March 21, 2024
02:19 PM GMT
‘Waspi compensation is less than I spent on banners and train tickets to protests’
Telegraph Money has been speaking to women affected by the change in state pension age who have said that the recommendation of a maximum award of £3,000 falls significantly short of their hopes.
Many caught out by the change claim that they were not well-informed of the changes, putting their retirement plans in tatters.
They say the changes resulted in them losing out on tens of thousands in retirement. Others say it has all come too late, with roughly 270,000 of those affected thought to have died waiting for a payout.
In total, 3.6 million women were affected by changes to the state pension legislation introduced in 1995, which began to raise the pension age from 2010. It meant it gradually increased from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2015.
Read the full piece here.
02:02 PM GMT
Ben Wilkinson: Waspis deserve an apology – but not a penny of compensation
Ben Wilkinson, the Telegraph’s Head of Money, writes that the culture of entitlement around the state pension will have to stop sooner or later.
While the Ombudsman now says Waspis affected by the ill-communicated state pensions age change deserve an apology and compensation, he asks whose fault is it really that these women were not aware of such a major change.
Read his full comment piece here.
01:55 PM GMT
Read the Telegraph’s full coverage of the Waspi campaign
01:36 PM GMT
Key findings from the report
In its final report the Parliamentary Ombudsman (PHSO) has laid out its findings on the Government’s handling of increases in women’s state pension age.
The key findings are:
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to communicate the changes to the women’s state pension well enough and the impact that it would have.
While the report found that the poor communication on National Insurance qualifying years resulted in a “diminished sense of personal autonomy and financial control” for those affected, the report did not rule it as an injustice and said it did not result “in them suffering direct financial loss”.
The investigation found that “too many people did not understand their own situations and how the new State Pension affected them personally”.
Despite research by the National Audit Office showing that information wasn’t reaching those who needed it the most, the DWP did not improve its services and information.
PHSO has said that while it has no power to compel organisations to comply with its recommendations, it is unusual for them to fail to do so. The body says it strongly doubts the DWP will provide a remedy so it is “asking Parliament to identify a mechanism for providing appropriate remedy for those who have suffered injustice”.
01:15 PM GMT
Steve Webb calls on DWP to act
Sir Steve Webb, the former pensions minister and now partner at LCP, called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to act.
He said: “If DWP refuses to accept the Ombudsman’s recommendation and refuses to establish a redress scheme, there is no chance that this position will hold. Particularly during an Election year, the Government will struggle to secure a majority for ignoring the Ombudsman’s report.
“Instead, DWP should respect the Ombudsman’s conclusions, which have been carefully considered over many years, and should come up with a redress scheme for their failure to notify women of sometimes life-changing increases in their state pension age.”
01:03 PM GMT
Report is ‘damning’ says former pensions minister
Baroness Altmann, the former pensions minister, described the report as “damning”.
“It highlights clear failings and indicates that millions of women are owed an apology, to acknowledge the impact on their retirement plans, but does not recommend the level of compensation many Waspi women were hoping for.
“An apology would be a start, but will not pay the bills for those plunged into poverty as a result of not knowing their State Pension Age had been increased. Nor will it remedy the distress, anger and anxiety for women born during the 1950s.
“Of course, not all Waspi women deserve thousands of pounds of compensation. Even the Ombudsman says, many women did know about the increase and they stayed working. Others had private and public sector pensions they could draw on before their state pension started, but millions had no idea of the delay.
“What happens next is entirely up to Parliament and I hope there will be swift action. The first important matter is for the DWP [Department for Work and Pensions] to own up to its errors, issue an apology and ensure it has processes to avoid this happening again.”
Read Baroness Altmann’s piece for the Telegraph here.
12:49 PM GMT
Age UK joins calls for Government to implement recommendations
Caroline Abrahams, the charity director at Age UK, said:
“Now that the Ombudsman has finally concluded that mistakes were made and that the Waspi women were wronged, the Government should get on with swiftly implementing his recommendations and fairly compensating all those impacted who are still alive - for some sadly it is already too late.
“It is astonishing that the Ombudsman is saying that he does not expect the Department for Work and Pensions to act on his report and is calling on Parliament to intervene. The Waspi women have waited for far too long already and it is unjust for their redress to be delayed any longer.
“Polls suggest confidence in many of our public institutions is at an all-time low; the Government should not further contribute to this widespread loss of faith by trying to ignore the Ombudsman’s report, however financially challenging it may be. There can be no doubt now that these older women were wronged and deserve justice.”
12:29 PM GMT
Q&A: What is the Waspi compensation campaign?
12:26 PM GMT
DWP says it has ‘cooperated fully’ with investigation and will respond in ‘due course’
A DWP spokesman said:
“We will consider the Ombudsman’s report and respond in due course, having cooperated fully throughout this investigation.
“The Government has always been committed to supporting all pensioners in a sustainable way that gives them a dignified retirement whilst also being fair to them and taxpayers.
“The State Pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so as we deliver a further 8.5pc rise in April which will increase the state pension for 12 million pensioners by £900.”
12:18 PM GMT
What happens now?
Millions of women could be awarded compensation if the Government accepts the recommendations in today’s report.
The case has now been referred to Parliament as the Department for Work and Pensions has so far ‘failed to comply’, according to the PHSO.
So far a level 4 compensation pay out has been recommended which would award affected women up to £2,950 each if Parliament agrees with the findings.
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt said the government is now considering the proposed recommendations. The Department for Work and Pensions has today said it will “consider the report and respond in due course”.
11:56 AM GMT
What compensation could affected women receive?
11:54 AM GMT
Pension provider calls for DWP to be ‘held accountable for shortcomings’
Becky O’Connor, the director of public affairs at PensionBee and the Telegraph’s Pensions Doctor, said:
“The push for the establishment of a compensation scheme, overseen by Parliament, marks a critical step forward in aiding those who suffered financial losses and a loss of ability to make informed financial decisions, due to insufficient communication from the Department for Work and Pensions regarding State Pension age adjustments.
“The Department for Work and Pensions holds a substantial responsibility to guarantee transparent communication regarding pension changes. It’s imperative that it is held accountable for any shortcomings in fulfilling this obligation, as these can significantly impact an individual’s retirement outcomes.”
11:48 AM GMT
Poll: Should Waspi women get compensation?
11:46 AM GMT
John McDonnell MP: Women will feel ‘betrayed’ by recommendation
The PHSO report on compensation for WASPI recommends a Level 4 amount which is between £1000 & £2950. Even though this is an acknowledgment of Government failures, I believe this will come as a bitter disappointment to many of these women, who will feel betrayed.
— John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) March 21, 2024
11:35 AM GMT
APPG calls on Goverment to right ‘historic wrong’ and ‘go beyond recommendations’
Rebecca Long-Bailey, the chair of the State Pension Inequality for Women APPG, said:
“So many of these women have been plunged into poverty in the years since that outrageous decision. These women were betrayed. Too many have already died waiting for justice.
“The UK Government must right this historic wrong, and go beyond the recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and deliver fair compensation to these women as a matter of urgency.”
11:25 AM GMT
Penny Mordaunt responds to question in Parliament
Speaking in the House of Commons at the Business Questions Penny Mordaunt was asked how the Government intends the House should respond to the reference to Parliament in the report.
She said: “I certainly know that the department will want to consider what is announced today with regard to Waspi Women.
“I know this is a concern across the House, and I’m sure that the minister will want to come and update the House at the earliest opportunity - they will want time to consider what is said today, but I hope that an update can be given to colleagues before recess.”
11:17 AM GMT
Waspi campaign chair responds
Organisations and those affected are beginning to respond to the Ombudsman’s report. Stay with us as we bring you the latest:
Angela Madden, the chair of Waspi, said:
“The DWP’s refusal to accept the clear conclusions of this five year long investigation is simply unbelievable. One of the affected women is dying every 13 minutes, and we just cannot afford to wait any longer.
“Now that the PHSO findings have at last been published, all parties owe it to the women affected to make a clear and unambiguous commitment to compensation. The Ombudsman has put the ball firmly in Parliament’s court, and it is now for MPs to do justice to all the 3.6 million women affected.
“The report at least finds that Level 4 compensation is required, but politicians across party lines have previously supported Level 6 – which would far more clearly and reasonably recognises the injustice and loss of opportunities suffered.
“We are now looking to those who have supported us over the years to put their money where their mouth is and back us on a proper compensation package. All the parties are now in the spotlight with Waspi women watching and waiting to see how they should best use their votes in the coming general election.”
11:05 AM GMT
History of the Waspi campaign: Full timeline of the movement
11:02 AM GMT
Waspi and women’s pensions – the key facts you need to know
Get up to speed with how pensions for women work, and what changes you need to be aware of with Telegraph Money’s guide.
11:00 AM GMT
Former pensions minister Steve Webb criticises Government response to Ombudsman
Ombudsman says DWP 'has refused to comply' with its ruling on state pension age changes. There is no point Parliament having an Ombudsman if the Government ignores its carefully considered recommendations
— Steve Webb (@stevewebb1) March 21, 2024
10:55 AM GMT
No guarantee of compensation
Despite the finding by the Ombudsman, there is no guarantee that those affected will receive compensation. The Ombudsman has called on parliament to intervene and rebuked the DWP which it said “has refused to comply” with its ruling on state pension age changes.
Compensating all women born in the 1950s at the level 4 range would involve spending between around £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion of public funds, though it is understood that not all of them will have suffered injustice.
10:44 AM GMT
Parliamentary Ombudsman calls on DWP to ‘put things right’
In a report released today the watchdog said four of the five test cases were “at the higher end of level 4 on the severity of injustice scale” - this suggests compensation of £2,950 each to those affected.
The Ombudsman has poured scorn on the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and said that “it is extremely rare for government departments not to comply with recommendations we make following an investigation”.
It has proactively asked Parliament to intervene and hold the DWP to account.
To date, DWP has not acknowledged its failings nor put things right for the women affected. DWP has not offered any apology or explanation for its failings and has indicated that it will not compensate women affected by its failure.
Campaigners for the Waspi campaign group, which was formed in 2015, have called for the ombudsman to recommend that compensation of £10,000 or more is paid to those affected.
10:23 AM GMT
DWP failed to communicate state pension change, says Ombudsman
Thousands of women may have been affected by the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) failure to adequately inform them that the state pension age had changed, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has said.
Rebecca Hilsenrath, the chief executive of PHSO, 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.
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.
So-called “Waspi” women, or “Women Against State Pension Inequality”, have been campaigning for nearly three decades against changes in the state pension age.
They claim that the changes were not communicated properly, meaning that women could not properly prepare for retirement. Some left work to care for loved ones, or as a result of ill health, believing that they would be entitled to the state pension from 60, campaigners say.
