Conservative MP Sir John Hayes has called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to consider establishing a “hardship fund for women affected by the change to the State Pension age”.
However, Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds believes that the “best way to support people, including women who have been affected by the change to the State Pension Age is to help them to retrain, return to or progress in work”.
In a written reply to Sir John earlier this week, she stated: “For those women who are unable to work but who are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age, financial support is still available through the welfare system.”
The so-called WASPI women (Women Against State Pension Inequality) have been waiting since March for the Government’s response to cross-party calls for compensation following recommendations made by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) in its final report, published on March 21.
The Ombudsman concluded that the DWP had committed ‘maladministration’ by failing to inform women that their State Pension age was set to rise from 60 to 65, then 66.
According to current Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, approximately 3.5 million women born in the 1950s have been impacted by the increases in the official retirement age, reports the Daily Record.
The PHSO report declared: “Parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for providing that appropriate remedy” and proposed compensation matching level four on its scale, ranging between £1,000 and £2,950.
Despite these recommendations, there’s been no movement towards establishing a scheme for redress.
Angela Madden, the WASPI campaign’s Chair, expressed optimism about a recent engagement, stating: “A meeting with the new Pensions Minister ‘is the start of something'” in the ongoing battle for swift and equitable recompense for those women affected by revisions to the State Pension age.
The confidential discussion took place at Westminster earlier this month, with Ms Reynolds engaging with WASPI representatives.
Nevertheless, following the discussion, appearing on BBC Breakfast, Ms Madden illuminated the near-decade-long struggle for justice, marking this as the inaugural ministerial meeting dedicated to advancing the PHSO’s propositions.
Reflecting on the significance of the interaction, the WASPI chair said: “Our campaign has been going for nearly 10 years now and this is the first meeting we’ve had with a Pensions Minister. So that’s quite significant.”
She added, acknowledging how they were regarded during the meeting: “We certainly felt listened to, Emma Reynolds is new in this job and she very much was listening, gathering information and understanding our position. She’s certainly got the official information, she’s read the reports (PHSO) and knows we appeared at the Work and Pensions Committee meeting earlier in May.”
Ahead of the election, polling indicated that 68 percent of the British public believe ‘fair and fast compensation’ should now be paid to women who received little or no notice of changes to their State Pension age.
However, parliament has adjourned for party conference season and will not reconvene until October 7, making it unlikely that any progress on a redress plan will be announced before then.
It’s worth noting that DWP Ministers are set to answer oral questions in the House of Commons on the day parliamentary business resumes. While the session is expected to be dominated by ongoing concerns over cuts to Winter Fuel Payments for 10m pensioners, it would be surprising if at least one MP did not raise the issue of State Pension age compensation.
