22 March 2024 , 11:03
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A furious pensioner has hit out at the government for 'stealing' £45,000 from her pension.
Carole Cooper is one of many women born in the 1950s fighting for their pensions after she wasn't properly informed about the rising pension age when she retired. She spoke out amidst the publication of a damning report on Friday which claims the women should be compensated, vindicating the fight from thousands from the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.
The 68-year-old, from Cambridgeshire, should have retired in 2015 and didn't realise she wouldn't be paid her state pension until applying for her bus pass - only to be told she wasn't old enough to qualify. Carole, who worked from the age of 16, says she had to wait six years with no income, taking £20,000 from a private pension pot to retrain so she could make a living.
Hitting out at the government following the report, Carole has said the suggested compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 was not enough, saying she wanted reimbursement, not compensation. She said the government "changed the goalposts" and in turn owes her.
"I don't want compensation, I want the money you have stolen from me," said Carole. She had to retrain aged 66 after realising her situation and has worked in healthcare practising reiki treatments to make money.
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Another victim of the scandal described being "robbed" of precious retirement time with her husband as a result of the change in retirement age. "They haven't considered the impact on women," said 66-year-old Audrey Evans from Nottingham, adding that many women born in the 1950s were more likely to leave education and start work younger.
She was just 14 when she began work in a factory, and later qualified as a nurse. As her husband is nine years older, he was 74 before they could retire together. She said: "The government basically robbed us of precious years together, a total injustice."
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) says women born between April 1950 and April 1960 are "owed" money because increases in the state pension age, from 60 to 66, were not communicated properly. The average victim missed out on over £50,000 in pension payments as a result, according to campaigners.
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."
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."