A GROUP of women campaigning for compensation after they were affected by changes to the state pension age are urging the new government to support them.
WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) have asked the new government to commit to paying fair and fast compensation within the first 100 days of parliament.
Their call comes after ministers were told in May to ‘urgently provide compensation’ to women born in the 1950s who were affected by the changes to state pension age.
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(Image: WASPI) Yvonne Robinson, from the North East Hants / Surry Borders WASPI group, said: “We are still waiting for the government to do the right thing and compensate WASPI women.”
The campaign, which began in 2015, supports more than 3.8 million women who suffered a ‘gross injustice’ because of maladministration on the part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), according to a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report published in March.
The DWP failed to properly inform them of an increase to their state pension age, resulting in many facing poverty.
Compensation could cost between £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion of public funds, the report said.
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Yvonne said: “In March 2024 the parliamentary ombudsman said the Government got things wrong, should apologise and pay compensation as soon as possible.
“More than 280,000 WASPI women have tragically died since the campaign began. One of these women was from our group. She didn’t get any of her pension.”
The group asked local election candidates to support WASPI.
“This has gone on far too long,” said Yvonne.
A DWP spokesperson said: “This was a serious report, requiring serious consideration. We will need time to carefully review and consider the Ombudsman’s report. Once this work has been undertaken, we will be in a position to outline our approach.
“We will continue to listen respectfully to the women involved, and ensure we take on board any lessons learnt.”
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