Waspi women have responded with hope and scepticism to the announcement that Labour ministers will look again at possible compensation for them.
Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaigners have urged the Government to study all the available evidence that shows failures to properly inform them of the rise in the state pension age.
Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said he would “retake” the decision after his predecessor Liz Kendall rejected a watchdog’s recommendation to compensate the affected women.
It has emerged that the Government had not taken into account research from 2007 that evaluated the effectiveness of pension forecast letters.
The Waspi campaign has been pushing for compensation for the 3.6 million women who expected their state pension at 60, but were forced to wait another five or six years.
‘It gives you a bit of hope’
Elizabeth Latham, 70, had to struggle on with her supermarket job despite ill-health in her early sixties until she finally got her state pension at 66.
“It’s a good thing that they’re looking at it again – it does give you a bit of hope,” Ms Latham, from Wolverhampton, told The i Paper after Tuesday’s announcement.
“But it seems to be just this one bit of [2007] evidence. I’m not sure whether they’re really going to look at the bigger picture. It shows they’ve failed to look at evidence properly, which is shocking.
“I think Pat McFadden is a caring MP, so I hope he really listens and looks at everything again.”
Ms Latham says she has some hope over the compensation issueMs Latham said she and her husband had struggled with energy bills, particularly since missing the winter fuel payment last year. They have avoided putting the heating on as much as possible, wearing extra layers to stay warm.
She currently receives around £820 a month from her state pension. “We just about get by,” she said.
“We don’t go out much, don’t go to restaurants. Although the state pension has gone up a bit, it gets wiped out by the cost of living. The price rises have been difficult to cope with.”
She said the lack of proper preparation for the state pension age rise had had “a huge, terrible impact on people’s lives.
“Many women have had to work on, have struggled to pay bills, have had to sell houses and downsize. It’s cruel how long we’ve had to wait to get what we’re owed.”
Waspis fear delay tactic by ministers
Latham said some of the Waspi campaigners she was in touch with were sceptical about McFadden’s announcement – fearing it might be a tactic to delay an upcoming legal case.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) previously found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guilty of maladministration for failing to properly notify women of the changes to the state pension age.
The Waspi campaign group filed a judicial review case against the DWP for rejecting the PHSO’s recommendation of compensation – of up to £2,950 for each woman. The case was expected to be heard in December.
McFadden said the failure to consider the 2007 DWP research findings on pension forecast letters had come to light as part of the legal battle.
“Some campaigners think it could be a delaying tactic, so that the court case doesn’t go ahead in December, and it gives them more time to get their evidence right,” said Latham.
“I just don’t know. I don’t know if they think they can shut us up for a while. Everybody will still be angry next year.”
‘It’s possible Government is in a panic’
Susan Bolland, 69, from Ayrshire, said her retirement plans were disrupted after the state pension age for women rose. She said she never received a letter warning her of the change.
“I think it’s smoke and mirrors and it’s essentially a delaying tactic,” she said of McFadden’s announcement. “It’s possible they’re in a panic about the strength of their evidence and trying to get more time.
Susan Bolland remains sceptical that Waspi women will get compensation“Unfortunately, from Pat McFadden’s comments yesterday, I think they still don’t get the need for compensation. I hope they take the chance to properly reconsider it.”
Ms Bolland added: “We’re still confident about our legal case. We could win the case, and the Government could still say they don’t have the money. I hope eventually they see they will have to do the right thing. Because we’re not going away.”
McFadden told MPs that the Government would not necessarily change its mind on the compensation payments, saying: “Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that the Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress.”
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Cabinet minister Wes Streeting also played down the “retake” announcement, saying he wanted to “manage a bit of expectation” on Waspi compensation.
“There’s been a judicial review application, it’s arisen that something that Liz Kendall should have seen was never put in front of her and therefore the decision has to be reconsidered by her successor Pat McFadden,” he told LBC.
“So I don’t want people to get too carried away this morning expecting there necessarily to be a different decision.”
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