Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigns against what it believes are unfair changes to the state pension age.
WASPI women have been forced to change their lifestyles after having to work years longer to receive their state pension.
The group argues some 3.8 million women born in the 1950s were adversely impacted by the decision to raise their state pension age from 60 to bring it in line with men.
The poor communication over state pension age changes left them with “insufficient time” to prepare for up to six years longer without their pension.
Many women were left to find extra work at a time when they thought they could retire, to pay extra contributions to receive a pension, or to fall into poverty and have to sell their homes to afford to live.
The group has had some success as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman previously found the DWP should have written individual letters to those affected 28 months earlier than it did.
A second stage of the Ombudsman’s investigation found there had been maladministration by the DWP.
This could mean affected women may one day get thousands of pounds in compensation.
On the WASPI Facebook page, many women who have been affected shared their stories and paid tribute to all those who have campaigned and fought for them.
Figen Vicky Rasmussen said: “WASPI, thank God that you’re fighting for us. What an absolute shambles created by DWP and refusing to own up to their mistakes. I retrained as an English teacher and taught aboard just to survive.
”Very hard times and still trying to live on a pittance given by the DWP. I don’t get the full pension as apparently I had been moved to SERPS! Had to give up my home and then move in with my elderly parents.
“But so many more with much harder lives. But it shouldn’t have come to this. A thousand thanks to you WASPI for fighting on our behalf.”
CJ Alexander wrote: “I am 64 and working full time, I have to pay my bills. I don’t mind working mentally but physically it is taking a lot out of me especially the last year or so.
I am getting more and more illnesses and I know in two years I will be worse. So thank you for all you’re doing I did write to my MP a while back but got no answer.
“Even if we do win this the compensation will be in the £100’s not the £1,000’s it should be and only for a very few because you try to prove you didn’t know when they will just say we wrote to you.”
With the campaigners now awaiting a ruling about what should be done to rectify the issue, they have sent the Ombudsman a list of 10 steps about how they think the probe should proceed.
The 10 steps include:
- Complete the investigation with a sense of urgency
- Clearly and correctly identify when maladministration began
- Clearly and correctly identify when maladministration ended
- Reach a sound conclusion on what would have happened if women had been correctly notified of the changes to their state pension age
- Make realistic findings on direct financial losses
- Look at the lost opportunities for women to make different financial decisions
- Properly consider the distress, anger and hurt of those affected
- Take account of varying impacts based on circumstances
- Reach conclusions in a fair manner including consultation with WASPI
- Make compensation recommendations that are fair, fast and straightforward.
The WASPI campaigners have urged its supporters to write to their MPs with the list of 10 demands.
The group said: “Some of us were already 58 when the DWP pulled the rug from under us by letting us know far too late that we could not retire and draw a pension at 60 but must instead wait until 66.
”By then we had taken life-changing decisions to leave work, often taking up caring responsibilities for our elderly parents, grandchildren or ill partners.”
The PHSO said: “We are confident that we have completed a fair and impartial investigation. As an independent Ombudsman, our duty is to provide the right outcome for all involved and make sure justice is achieved. Given the legal challenge brought against us, we have agreed to look again at part of our stage 2 report.
“We hope this cooperative approach will provide the quickest route to remedy for those affected and reduce the delay to the publication of our final report.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “The Government decided over 25 years ago it was going to make the State Pension age the same for men and women.
“Both the High Court and Court of Appeal have supported the actions of the DWP under successive governments dating back to 1995 and the Supreme Court refused the claimants permission to appeal.”
