19 April 2024 , 12:39
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WASPI women have been dealt another blow after a compensation bill set to be debated in Parliament today was delayed.
The second reading of the State Pension Age (Compensation) Bill was due to take place today in the House of Commons, but it has now been pushed back by almost a month to May 17. The Women Against State Pension Inequality ( WASPI ) campaign argues that women born in the 1950s were not given adequate information about the rising state pension age.
The group says it does not disagree with the state pension age becoming the same for women and men, but argues that the Government did not give some women enough time to make alternative plans. WASPI, which launched in 2015, is seeking compensation for up to 3.6million women.
Last month, a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) “did not communicate changes” to the state pension age well enough. The PHSO report suggested a compensation level of between £1,000 and £2,950 for impacted women, but the WASPI campaign wants payouts of £10,000 or more.
The compensation bill was initially introduced by SNP MP Alan Brown, who today said: "I am disappointed I have had to reschedule the potential second reading of the bill. This is proof that the way Westminster operates with the Government of the day being able to dictate timings needs to be overhauled."
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The state pension age for women used to be 60, while for men it used to be 65 - but a new timetable was drawn up as part of the 1995 Pensions Act for men and women to gradually have the same state pension age. It was originally set that the state pension age for women would increase to 65 between 2010 and 2020.
However, the coalition Government decided to accelerate this in 2010 and under the 2011 Pensions Act, the new state pension age of 65 for women was brought forward to 2018. Both men and women saw their state pension age increase to 66 in October 2020.