Another government ‘rethink’ on Waspi women
This week the government announced it is reconsidering its decision to reject compensation for women hit by changes to the state pension age, PCS ARMs member Clare Wilkins is part of campaign group Women Against State Pension Inequality and gives her reaction to the news
Campaigners say 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed of the rise in state pension age to bring them into line with men. Last year, the government apologised for a 28-month delay in sending letters, but rejected any kind of financial payouts.
WASPI women have been campaigning for over a decade. Women born between April 1950 and April 1960 worked and paid National Insurance to qualify for their state pensions at age 60.
As WASPI prepare to take the government to court, they announced that they will ‘rethink’ the decision not to pay compensation.
DWP minister, Liz Kendall, announced in the House of Commons on 17 December 2024 that, not only would there be no compensation but also that there had been sufficient notice from DWP and there was no real evidence of significant detriment to the women. This completely contradicted the findings of the ombudsman’s report of nearly two years before. Cynically, she left it till the eve of the Christmas recess to make the announcement. She said that compensation would be a ‘detrimental cost to the taxpayer’ but 9 million of 12 million pensioners are taxpayers and with tax thresholds frozen till 2028, almost all state pensioners will be paying tax. The tax burden is concentrated on poor pensioners and low-paid workers rather than those who salt their riches away in tax havens or the big companies who pay no tax.
Labour supported the WASPI women when they were in opposition.
The state pension is the lowest in Europe and you have to have 35 years of National Insurance to qualify in full. Only 2 million pensioners get the full amount. Pensioners who qualified for state pension before 2016 receive the Basic State Pension, which is lower than the New State Pension. Over 2 million pensioners live in poverty.
We need a liveable state pension at an age that enables everyone to have a decent and dignified life in older age. The fight of WASPI women is part of this fight.