A former pensions minister has slammed the Labour Government’s decision to not award women born in the 1950s a state pension payout as an “extremely worrying precedent”.
Sir Steve Webb has taken aim at Liz Kendall’s decision to not implement compensation recommendations of up to £3,000 for millions of women affected by historic state pension age changes, dealing a significant blow to the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign.
This decision impacts approximately 3.8 million women who were affected by the 1995 State Pension Act, which raised the state pension age for women from 60 to 65.
Waspi campaigners have long fought for compensation, arguing that millions of women were left unable to properly prepare for retirement due to inadequate communication about the changes.
In 2021, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guilty of “maladministration” over its handling of the state pension age changes. The finding specifically highlighted the DWP’s failure to adequately inform women about the changes to their pension age.
Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.
Analysts claim Labour’s decision to not offer the Waspi women compensation is “extremely worrying”
PA
Earlier this year, the ombudsman issued a follow-up report recommending a Level 4 payout for women born in the 1950s. The recommended compensation would have amounted to between £1,000 and £2,750 per affected individual.
Webb has strongly criticised the Government’s handling of the Waspi compensation issue. The LCP partner said: “The Government’s handling of this issue sets an extremely worrying precedent.”
He warned that allowing a department to reject findings from the ombudsman “strikes a blow at the heart of the whole process” and expressed concern that Governments might now feel empowered to “pick and choose” when faced with critical Ombudsman reports, effectively becoming “judge and jury” of their own cases.
The LCP partner added that even if full implementation was deemed unaffordable, there were “many options which would have offered some redress to those most affected.”
The former minister urged MPs not to accept this decision passively, suggesting the rejection raises broader issues beyond pension-age compensation. Prior to the announcement, Waspi campaign chair Angela Madden had issued a stark warning to the Government.
“Waspi women have been watching and waiting for nine long months while the DWP response to the PHSO has been in gestation,” she said. Madden emphasised that campaigners would accept nothing less than “fair and fast compensation” for the 3.6 million affected women.
She called for a universal payment scheme for all those who weren’t properly informed of state pension age changes. The campaign chair also advocated for additional provisions for those who suffered the most acute financial losses.
This approach had received unanimous endorsement from the cross-party Work and Pensions Committee earlier this year, Madden noted. Age UK’s Charity Director Caroline Abrahams has joined the criticism of the Government’s stance on Waspi compensation.
She said affected older women “are right to feel aggrieved” and would be “deeply disappointed” by the announcement.
Abrahams challenged the government’s position, stating: “It isn’t credible for the Government to contradict the Ombudsman’s painstaking report when it comes to liability for compensation.”
While acknowledging the pressure on public finances, she criticised the government for suggesting there was no case for compensation.
Abrahams also highlighted that many affected women face additional financial pressure, noting that the loss of Winter Fuel Payment this year would “intensify their sense of injustice”.
