Waspi women may not have to wait much longer for an update about state pension compensation.
Sir Keir Starmer this week announced that the government will make a statement on compensating the women affected “in the not too distant future”.
His comments came nearly a decade since those affected by state pension changes set up the Women Against State Pension Inquality, or ‘Waspi’, campaign, which says women were given too little notice to plan for their retirement after the retirement age was raised from 60 to 65 in a two-year period.
Here’s what we know about the Waspi campaign, who is affected and what the women are asking for.
What happened to the Waspi women?
The first changes to the state pension age for women were announced in the 1990s.
In 1995, John Major’s government decided to change the state pension age from 60 to 65 to make it the same as men. Ministers argued that not only were more women working, but they also lived for longer.
Initially, it was planned for the state pension age to increase slowly over a decade-long window so that women could adjust their financial plans. But the 2011 Pensions Act, brought in by David Cameron’s government, drastically shortened that timetable.
Not only was the women’s pension age increased to 65 with just two years’ notice, the government also raised the overall pension age to 66 by October 2020 – saving it around £30bn.
What does Waspi mean?
The acronym Waspi was coined in 2015 by campaigners fighting for the rights of women affected by the changes. They have called on the government to agree fair and fast compensation for all women affected by the lack of notice.
Campaigners argue that hundreds of thousands of women are suffering financial hardship because of the government’s decision to accelerate the plans, which shortened the time available to re-plan their retirement.
Some women have also been pushed into financial hardship and struggled to find work elsewhere, with others claiming benefits for support.
Many women were not adequately notified of the changes, campaigners say, with some receiving letters 14 years after the initial law passed. Some said they were never notified at all.
How many Waspi women are there?
Because of the way the increases were brought in, there are an estimated 3.8 million women affected by the changes overall, with 2.6 million affected by the 2011 change.
About 300,000 women born between December 1953 and October 1954 — who were particularly close to their state pension age when the changes were announced — had the shortest time window to prepare for the changes.
How much could it cost to pay the Waspi women?
In 2018, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) began its investigation into the treatment of Waspi women by the government, and the impact of the changes.
The PHSO, an independent complaint handling service for complaints set up by parliament, found that affected women should have had at least 28 months’ more individual notice of the changes by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
It also said that for women who were not aware of the changes, the opportunity that additional notice would have given them to adjust their retirement plans was lost due to delay.
The ombudsman rates the severity of each case it looks to on a scale of one to six. Earlier this year, it suggested that Waspi women receive compensation at level four, ranging between £1,000 and £2,950.
This level of compensation is for those who have experienced a significant and/or lasting impact because of the changes, so much so that to some extent it has affected their ability to live a relatively normal life.
However, campaigners have said that women should receive as much as £10,000 – level six of the scale. If they received the maximum amount, it would cost the government £36bn overall.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced some compensation payouts in her recent budget, but nothing relating to the Waspi campaign.
She announced the government will compensate victims and families of victims affected by the infected blood scandal by £11.8bn, and also pay out £1.8bn to victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal, in addition to the £289m it has previously paid.
What’s the latest news on the the Waspi women’s compensation?
Waspi women are still no clearer on how much compensation they will receive despite the investigation starting six years ago, with campaigners estimating that at least 270,000 women have died waiting.
Asked by reporters on the trip to the G20 summit in Brazil why compensation was taking so long, Starmer said: “The DWP [Department for Work and Pensions) secretary will be making a statement on this in the not too distant future.
He added: “Obviously it’s a very serious report, and the response will be set out by the DWP secretary.”
Earlier this month, pensions minister Emma Reynolds told the Commons that the government hoped “to be able to update the house in the coming weeks”.
She told MPs: “The ombudsman took six years to look at what are a range of complex cases, and we are looking at the complexity of those cases.
“I was the first minister in six years to meet with representatives of the Waspi campaign,” she added.
