Government to reconsider decision to deny Waspi women compensation

Waspi women could get compensation for the way state pension changes were communicated, after the Government said it would reconsider its decision not to give payouts after new evidence came to light.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said his department would review the policy, announced last year, not to compensate women born in the 1950s who were affected by the increase in the pension age.

It came as court proceedings led to the rediscovery a 2007 Department for Work and Pensions evaluation which had led to officials stopping sending automatic pension forecast letters out.

However, Mr McFadden offered campaigners no guarantees that the review would lead to compensation being awarded.

The minister said “in the interests of fairness and transparency”, the Government would reconsider its decision.

He said: “This means we will retake the decision made last December, as it relates to the communications on state pension age.”

He added: “I understand that people are impatient for this matter to be finally resolved with the ombudsman’s investigation having taken six years before reporting last year, but it is important that we give this full and proper consideration.

“Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress.”

In response, Angela Madden, the chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), said the decision was a “major step forward”.

She said: “For 10 years we have been fighting for compensation. The Government have fought us tooth and nail every step of the way.

“Today’s announcement is a major step forward. We are now seeking legal advice as to what this means for our judicial review.

“The Government now knows it got it wrong and we are pleased they are now trying to do it properly. We hope they also try to do it quickly because every 13 minutes a Waspi woman dies.

“The only correct thing to do is to immediately compensate the 3.6 million Waspi women who have already waited too long for justice.”

Campaigners have argued that the Government did not properly inform women born in the 1950s that there would be delays to them receiving the state pension.

The group has argued that this led to women planning their finances based on incorrect understandings, which has left them having to work longer or facing financial hardship.

The decision to refuse compensation was made despite a recommendation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) the women should be paid up to £2,950 each.

Then-work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said in December last year that the potential £10.5 billion cost could not be justified.

Waspi women have since sought a judicial review to challenge the Government’s policy.

Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr McFadden said the DWP document was revealed during the legal proceedings.

He said the research findings from the report on the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters would have been taken into account if his predecessor, Liz Kendall, who was sat alongside him in the Commons, had been aware of it.

The DWP evaluation said it believed the letters had little impact on knowledge of the state pension system.

It said that under a third of those asked could recall reading the letters.

Mr McFadden continued: “The work will begin immediately and I will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.”

The issue stems from the 1995 Pensions Act, which introduced a plan to bring the state pension age for women in line with men, at 65.

Further legislation introduced under the then-coalition government brought forward the timetable for the pension age to rise to 66 for both men and women.

The PHSO then looked at complaints about how well the Government had communicated changes in an eight-year investigation.

Shadow Treasury minister Mark Garnier said the Conservatives accepted the “contents and spirit” of the statement but said the Government was not on the side of pensioners.

Mr Garnier said: “The Waspi women are rightly angry with this Government.

“While in opposition, shadow ministers and Labour MPs stood alongside these women, as (Mr McFadden) did campaigning for, and I quote, ‘a better deal for Waspi women’.

“However, when the party opposite win the general election, they quickly apparently U-turned on this position, blaming the fiscal situation they were left with.”

He continued: “All this statement has shown is that the Government wants to keep kicking the can down the road and not be accountable for their actions.”

A spokesperson for the PHSO said: “We acknowledge the Government’s announcement that it has withdrawn the decision not to award compensation to women affected by failings in communication of changes to the state pension age.

“We offer our assistance to the DWP as they review the available evidence.”