Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigners have shared a positive update with the hundreds of thousands of women who are awaiting compensation worth up to nearly £3,000 each. WASPI was established to help women born in the 1950s who were negatively impacted affected by an increase in their pension age.
These women say that their retirement plans were thrown into chaos as they were not properly notified by the Government that their State Pension age would increase by more than five years. WASPI says they are not opposed to equalisation, but that they “do not accept the unfair way the changes to our pensions were implemented with inadequate or no notice”.
An Ombudsman report released over six months ago recommended that WASPI women receive compensation ranging from £1,000 to £2,950 each, and urged Parliament to “act swiftly” in disbursing the funds. However, no compensation has been awarded yet.
A post from the official WASPI X account shared how a council has thrown its support behind the campaign. A motion to support WASPI was unanimously back at a meeting of West Northamptonshire Council last week, according to the BBC, as tens of thousands of women in the region were among the millions affected.
Councillor Jonathan Harris, deputy leader of West Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats, who proposed a motion to lobby the government said: “Women have had their emotional, physical and mental circumstances totally obliterated by a lack of reasonable notice.”
WASPI will they conduct a demonstration in Parliament Square on October 30, as new Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Autumn Budget. A post on WASPI social media feeds reads: “WASPI women have traditionally gathered outside Parliament on such days, but this year we are asking all our supporters to go one step further.
“This is your opportunity to make your voice heard, as thousands of WASPI women renew their calls for fair and fast compensation on Budget Day.”
