WASPI campaigners hoping to get compensation face an uphill battle to secure payouts from the DWP, an expert has warned.
A much anticipated report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has recommended payouts of between £1,000 and £2,950 but ministers have yet to make a decision on the issue.
Accountant Andrew Gosselin, senior editor at The Calculator Site, told Express.co.uk: “The Ombudsman’s report confirmed that they should be paid, but making that happen will be very hard.
“You need to carefully look at each person’s situation, such as how much longer they had to work, any extra costs or debts they racked up, and even any health effects that broke that promise. It needs to be complete and fair.
”I’m not holding my breath, though, for that compensation to show up. From what I’ve seen, the Government takes a very long time to do things like this.”
His comments come after the WASPI campaign vowed to continue to pressure MPs to take up the issue and deliver compensation for the hundreds of thousands of women affected.
Ms Gosselin spoke of his sympathy for their cause, saying: “I think it’s a shame that those WASPI women had to deal with changes to their pension ages with almost no notice.”
Ashley Akin, senior tax associate at Dividend Earner, said WASPI women “absolutely deserve” compensation.
He said: “While the recent Ombudsman report didn’t prescribe a remedy, amends feel reasonable after such gross mismanagement – whether expedited payments, higher benefits, or direct indemnification.
“Of course, WASPI campaigners have been advocating for justice on this for years, but the huge unknown is whether the Government will actually follow through with a compensation program – and if so, when.
“For those impacted women, continue pushing through official channels, but also plan contingencies in case the relief never comes.”
DWP minister Mel Stride was asked about the question of compensation earlier this week (April 8) but he refused to set out a timetable for making a decision.
He told ITV: “There’ll be no undue delay in us coming forward, but I do want to have sufficient time.
“There are very strong feelings about this on all sides of the argument as to whether conversation should be paid or not. And I do want to make sure that we get that judgment right.”
You can find out how much the WASPI compensation payouts could be in your area using this map tool.
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