Hundreds of thousands of "betrayed" women who suffered when the state pension age was unexpectedly raised must finally be paid compensation, a long-awaited report says.
Watchdog the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman called on ministers to act swiftly to deal with injustice inflicted because of failings at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). It suggests compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 per victim - far short of the sums campaigners hoped for.
More than 3.8million women born in the 1950s weren't properly informed that the state pension age was rising - meaning they couldn't plan for their retirement. Campaigners say the average victim missed out on over £50,000 in pension payments as a result.
The PHSO said it is now taking the "rare but necessary" step of getting Parliament to intervene because of the "scale of the impact of DWP’s maladministration" and the urgent need to put it right.
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The watchdog's chief executive Rebecca Hilsenrath, said: “DWP has clearly indicated that it will refuse to comply. This is unacceptable. The Department must do the right thing and it must be held to account for failure to do so."
She went on: “Parliament now needs to act swiftly, and make sure a compensation scheme is established." The report says classifying the state pension failure as a 'level 4' injustice - meaning victims would receive £1,000 to £2,950 - would cost the Treasury between £3.5billion and £10.5 billion. Campaigners believe it should be 'level 6', meaning payments of over £10,000.
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That call has been backed by cross-party MPs. Tory Peter Aldous, vice-chairman of the State Pension Inequality for Women All-Party Parliamentary Group, said compensation "in line with Category 6 injustice" must be agreed by Parliament.
He said: "These millions of women worked, cared for families, and supported communities all their lives. They deserve the dignity of fast compensation." And Labour's Rebecca Long Bailey, fellow vice-chairwoman of the APPG, said: "So many of these women have been plunged into poverty in the years since that outrageous decision. These women were betrayed. Too many have already died waiting for justice."
Campaign group Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) says millions of victims lost more than £50,000 (In Pictures via Getty Images)She called on the Government to "go beyond" the PHSO's recommendation. It piles pressure on Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer to come up with a compensation plan ahead of the general election.
Campaign group Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) says tens of thousands of women were plunged into poverty as a result of DWP failings. It previously said each affected woman should be paid between £10,000 and £20,000 to make up for lost pension payments.
Since launching its campaign in 2015, WASPI estimates more than 270,000 who were impacted have died - an average of one every 13 minutes.
Campaign chair Angela Madden said: “The DWP’s refusal to accept the clear conclusions of this five year long investigation is simply unbelievable. One of the affected women is dying every 13 minutes, and we just cannot afford to wait any longer. Now that the PHSO findings have at last been published, all parties owe it to the women affected to make a clear and unambiguous commitment to compensation."
And she said payments of over £10,000 would recognise the "injustice and loss of opportunities" victims suffered. In a warning to party leaders she said: “We are now looking to those who have supported us over the years to put their money where their mouth is and back us on a proper compensation package. All the parties are now in the spotlight with WASPI women watching and waiting to see how they should best use their votes in the coming general election.”
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Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: "After years of waiting, the Ombudsman has finally recommended compensation for WASPI women. These courageous women, who have tirelessly campaigned for justice after being left out of pocket, deserve our admiration for their persistence.
“Liberal Democrats have long supported WASPI in their campaign and it is now up to this Conservative Government to come forward with a plan to get these women the compensation they are owed.”
Between April 2010 and November 2018 the State Pension age for women gradually increased from 60 to 65. But communication failures meant people were unable to plan properly. It went up again to 66 in October 2020, and is due to go up to 67 by 2028.
The ombudsman has been investigating the issue for five years with the first stage, published in 2021, saying the Government was slow in informing women how they would be affected by the change.
A DWP spokesman said: "We will consider the ombudsman's report and respond in due course, having co-operated fully throughout this investigation. The Government has always been committed to supporting all pensioners in a sustainable way that gives them a dignified retirement, whilst also being fair to them and taxpayers.
"The state pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so as we deliver a further 8.5% rise in April which will increase the state pension for 12 million pensioners by £900."
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