State pension freeze: Lord Jones raises issue of ‘unfairness’

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They have won a symbolic victory after the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said they should have had more notice of moves to raise their state retirement age from 60 to 66. Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) has been seeking redress for an estimated 3.8 million women born in the 1950s who lost out on payments.  The ombudsman said they suffered maladministration because the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) told them of the changes 28 months too late.

They should have been contacted in December 2006, but did not hear from the DWP until April 2009. The ombudsman has no power to refund lost pensions or pay damages, but can recommend that the Government gives the women compensation.

Waspi’s chairwoman Angela Madden said the ruling vindicated their case that women should have been given more time to plan for retirement. She wants the Government to compensate affected women now, rather than make them wait even longer while the ombudsman investigates the case further.

She said that the DWP’s inaction had a “devastating and life-altering impact on women across the country” and added: “We cannot allow a vicious cycle. of Government inaction to continue.”

The DWP said its actions had been backed by the High Court and Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court had refused the pension claimants permission to appeal.

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