Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said most Waspi women knew the state pension age was changing so it was not “the best use of taxpayers’ money to pay an expensive compensation bill”.
The government revealed on Tuesday it would not be compensating millions of women born in the 1950s – called Waspi women – who say they were not given sufficient warning of the state pension age for women being lifted from 60 to 65.
It was due to be phased in over 10 years from 2010, but in 2011 was sped up to be reached by 2018, then rose to the age of 66 in 2020.
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Several leading Labour politicians, including Sir Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, said they would get compensation for Waspi women (Women Against State Pension Inequality) before they were in government.
However, they have all now said compensation, which would have cost up to £10.5bn, will not be provided.
Ms Reeves became the latest, as she said: “I understand that women affected by the changes to the state pension age will be disappointed by the decision but we looked in full at the ombudsman recommendations and they said 90% of women did know these changes were coming.
“As chancellor, I have to account for every penny of taxpayers’ money spent.
“Given the vast majority of people knew these changes were coming, I didn’t judge that it was the best use of taxpayers’ money to pay an expensive compensation bill for something most people knew was happening.”
Earlier this year, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found thousands of women may have been adversely impacted by failures to adequately inform people of the change.
The watchdog suggested women should receive compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 – but the findings were not legally binding.
Following the government’s decision to not compensate the women, the ombudsman criticised the government.
Rebecca Hilsenrath, PHSO chief executive, told Times Radio: “It’s great that the government are saying that our intervention will lead to service improvements and it’s fair to say also that people who come to us, overwhelmingly, are motivated by wanting things to improve for other people.
“But what we don’t expect is for an acknowledgement to be made by a public body that it’s got it wrong but then refuse to make it right for those affected.”
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Angela Madden, chairwoman of the Waspi campaign group, said refusing to compensate those impacted was a “bizarre and totally unjustified move”.
She added: “An overwhelming majority of MPs back Waspi’s calls for fair compensation and all options remain on the table.
“Parliament must now seek an alternative mechanism to force this issue onto the order paper so justice can be done.”
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Conservative Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, told Sky News it was “a big issue of betrayal” by the Labour government.
“I’m not sitting here saying we would necessarily have done something about it. That’s fair,” he said.
“But the point is this government has given everybody the impression that they would, and then they’ve come in, and now they’re saying they wouldn’t. That’s a big issue.
“I can understand people, particularly the Waspi women, feeling enormously let down by that.”
