NPC wants WASPI women’s claim reconsidered in light of new evidence

The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has called on the government to urgently rethink the state pension age compensation claims of millions of “WASPI women” after fresh evidence emerged.

But like many campaigners, NPC fears the government’s announcement to review their earlier decision to deny payouts to the 1950s-born women is just a distraction from WASPI’s legal challenge in the High Court next month.

Jan Shortt, General Secretary of the NPC said: “The government’s decision to review the WASPI women’s case for compensation in the light of new evidence is encouraging. But with a two-day High Court hearing set to begin on 9th December, we worry that this review is just a distraction.

“The NPC believe that justice for the 1950s born women demands more than the apology the government has so far offered. Millions of women who expected to receive their state pension at 60 and then had that goalpost moved to 65 then 66, have suffered real financial hardship and anxiety. The government must now seriously reconsider their decision not to pay them the compensation they are rightly due.”

For years, the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign has fought for justice for the 3.6 million women who say they were not properly informed about the government’s plan to increase the state pension age from 60 to 65, and then to 66, to bring it in line with men. Many women had made financial plans in good faith, only to find their retirement hopes in ruins when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) implemented the changes without properly communicating their plans.

Last year the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) issued a damning report, finding the DWP guilty of maladministration in the way the changes were handled.

But fears grow that fresh hope in compensation

Campaign is just a ‘delaying tactic’

The PHSO recommended compensation for those affected, suggesting payments between £1,000 and £2,950 per woman, which would total between £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion if awarded to all who are eligible. Despite this, ministers rejected any compensation proposals, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves arguing that improving public services was a higher priority than spending billions on payouts.

However, the landscape shifted this week when Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden announced in the House of Commons that the government would reconsider its decision to deny compensation, owing to previously unseen evidence coming to light. A survey from 2007, not shown to Liz Kendall, the then Work and Pensions Secretary prompted the review – although no timescale has been outlined.

Mr McFadden stressed that the review of the evidence does not guarantee financial redress, but that it is necessary to ensure all the relevant information is considered. Senior government sources also played down the chances of the new evidence altering the government’s decision, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting urged campaigners not to “get carried away” with expectations that it would be reversed.

While WASPI campaigners have welcomed the review as a “major step forward.” Angela Madden, chair of WASPI, said the group was seeking legal advice on the implications for their ongoing judicial review, starting in December.

Campaigners argue that many affected women only discovered their state pension age had increased after retiring or giving up work, leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket and struggling with living costs. WASPI supporter Norma Elkington from Blackpool has been quoted as saying the government’s move is simply a “delaying tactic.”

Meantime NPC and the WASPI women and their supporters continue to campaign for fair compensation for a government decision to raise the state pension age that affected millions of lives and their financial security in old age.

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