250,000 women have died waiting for DWP pension compensation - WASPI campaigners
Over 250,000 women affected by the state pension age change have died whilst campaigning for compensation from the DWP the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign has revealed.
In 1995, the Government announced changes to raise the woman's state pension age from 60 to 65, to make it the same as the men's state pension age. Then in 2011, further increases were introduced as part of the Pensions Act, which accelerated the rise to 66 for everyone from 2018.
WASPI argues that women affected were not given adequate notice to make alternative retirement and pension income arrangements They say nearly four million women born in the 1950s had their retirement plans thrown into chaos and some women were only informed of the change months before they turned 60.
The group, which was launched in 2015, say the poor communication over the changes left them with "insufficient time" to prepare for up to six years longer without their pension. This then caused them lasting financial problems as well as impacts on their health and emotional well-being. The WASPI group say women affected have missed out on up to £50,000 due to the increase in the age limit.
According to the WASPI, three in five of the affected women say they had already retired or cut their working hours down by the time they found out they would not get their state pension at 60. The group also claim women have fallen into financial hardship, with recent data showing nearly half - 45% - of 1950s-born women have struggled to pay essential bills in the last year.
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Both the High Court and Court of Appeal have supported the actions of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). However, an investigation by the independent complaint handling ombudsman has already found that the DWP failed to give women enough notice of the changes. Stage two of this investigation report was rejected recently due to legal errors but is being revisited. The third part of the report has yet to be published by the Ombudsman.
Following this rejection, the group began to pressure the ombudsman to quickly give a "fair" conclusion to the saga. The Waspi women say this investigation is "crucial" as they believe it could have some bearing on how much compensation they could get, although it is not a certainty that compensation will be given.
Angela Madden, chair of the Waspi campaign, told This is Money: "For the 250,000 women who have died while waiting for this issue to be resolved, justice delayed is truly justice denied. The Ombudsman's investigation has been going on for five long years, and it is two years since he confirmed the DWP was guilty of maladministration.
"To keep women waiting a single further day for a proper offer of compensation just shows an appalling disregard for all of us."
A DWP spokesperson told The Mirror: “We support millions of people every year and our priority is ensuring they get the help and support to which they are entitled.
“The Government decided over 25 years ago it was going to make the State Pension age the same for men and women. Both the High Court and Court of Appeal have supported the actions of the DWP under successive governments dating back to 1995 and the Supreme Court refused the claimants permission to appeal.”
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