The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) Campaign have served the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with a ‘letter before action’ informing them that legal proceedings will begin unless the UK Government reconsiders its decision to reject a compensation scheme for millions of women affected by changes to the State Pension age.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) final report, published in March last year, recommended that compensation be paid to women born in the 1950s whose State Pension age was raised to be equal with men, but in a statement to Parliament in December, Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP, said taxpayers cannot afford what could be a £10.5 billion redress package.
Angela Madden, chairwoman of the campaign group, said members will not allow the DWP’s “gaslighting” of WASPI women to go “unchallenged”. Campaigners say the UK Government’s reasons for rejecting the PHSO’s report, which recommended that the women should be paid up to £2,950 each, are “legally wrong”.
WASPI, which has launched a £75,000 Crowdjustice campaign to fund legal action, says the Labour Government has 14 days to respond before the case is filed.
The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Liz Kendall, are among the senior ministers who backed the Waspi campaign when Labour was in opposition.
An estimated 3.6 million women across the UK were affected by the change to retirement age, first announced in the 1990s. This was later accelerated under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government more than a decade ago.
However, there was a 28-month delay in writing to inform them of the changes, which the DWP accepted and apologised for during the December statement.
The Labour Government previously highlighted research indicating that, by 2006, 90 per cent of 1950s-born women knew about State Pension age changes.
WASPI campaigners have claimed women suffered financial hardship and had to rethink retirement plans.
Ms Madden said: “The Government has accepted that 1950s-born women are victims of maladministration, but it now says none of us suffered any injustice.
“We believe this is not only an outrage but legally wrong.”
She added: “We have been successful before and we are confident we will be again. But what would be better for everyone is if the Secretary of State (Liz Kendall) now saw sense and came to the table to sort out a compensation package.
“The alternative is continued defence of the indefensible but this time in front of a judge.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We accept the Ombudsman’s finding of maladministration and have apologised for there being a 28-month delay in writing to 1950s-born women.
“However, evidence showed only one in four people remember reading and receiving letters that they weren’t expecting and that by 2006 90 per cent of 1950s-born women knew that the state pension age was changing.
“Earlier letters wouldn’t have affected this.
“For these and other reasons the government cannot justify paying for a £10.5 billion compensation scheme at the expense of the taxpayer.”
MPs will debate proposals in an online WASPI petition, calling for a compensation scheme, on March 17 – find out more here.