Failure to pay compensation to WASPI women has been branded “an absolute betrayal” by Renfrewshire campaigners.
The UK Government announced on Tuesday that it would not compensate women born between April 1950 and April 1960 who were not properly notified of changes to the state pension age.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) had said earlier this year that women were “owed” money due to maladministration on the part of the government.
Payouts of up to £2,950 were recommended to women, including the 11,000 impacted by the change in Renfrewshire.
Yesterday Kathleen Birney from the Renfrewshire branch of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign group, said she was “disgusted” a Labour government had turned its back on them.
“We feel betrayed by so many members of the Labour Party,” she said. “They pledged their support for fair and fast compensation and as soon as they came to power it didn’t matter any more, now that they don’t need our votes.
“We are disgusted by it all. The reality is that most women are £50k down and we have never asked for all of the money that we have lost out on.
“We accepted the ombudsman’s report and the recommended level of compensation; that’s what we are being denied.”
She added: “This sat with the ombudsman for six years. What is the point of having an independent ombudsman and financing it if you are not going to stand by its findings and recommendations.”
Research from the House of Commons Library estimates around 11,190 Renfrewshire WASPI women were affected by the scandal, which left them without enough time to adjust their savings plans.
If the ombudsman’s recommendations were implemented total compensation payouts of between £11.2m and £33m would be made to women in the county.
In East Renfrewshire, a further 6,020 women are affected, with a compensation bill between £6m and £17.9m.
The overall bill to the taxpayer to compensate 3.6 million WASPI women across the UK would be between £3.6billion and £10.8bn.
But the UK Government has said it simply can’t afford it, arguing most women did know about the changes.
Announcing compensation would not be paid on Tuesday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said she accepted there had been a “maladministration” in communication, with a 28-month delay in letters being sent out to women, and apologised for this.
But she said research suggested there had been “considerable awareness” among women about the changes to the state pension age, and that there was no evidence of “direct financial loss”.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves defended the decision, saying it would not be the best use of taxpayers’ money to pay an expensive compensation bill.
Several high profile Labour MPs previously supported the WASPI campaign, but the party didn’t commit to paying compensation in its manifesto ahead of the 2024 general election.
Don’t miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here