AN OPEN letter sent to the House of Commons today urged MPs to vote on compensating women impacted by state pension changes.
The letter, sent by campaign group Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), amassed a whopping 28,000 signatures from supporters.
It was sent after the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to adequately communicate the rise in pension age after a five-year long investigation into the matter.
The Tory government’s 1995 Pensions Act and subsequent legislation raised the state pension age for women born on or after April 6 1950 from 60 to 65.
The changes affected approximately 3.8 million women.
Many of them were left in the dark and suffered grave financial and emotional distress as a result.
In its report, the ombudsman said that the DWP had not acknowledged its failings and “clearly indicated it will refuse to comply” with their proposal for compensation.
As a result, the body took the “rare but necessary” decision to ask Parliament to intervene to make sure a compensation scheme is established.
The letter from the Waspi campaigners demanded the Commons “urgently have the opportunity to debate and vote” on compensation proposals.
Waspi chairwoman Angela Madden said: “Now that the ombudsman has made such a clear ruling on maladministration, it is up to Parliament to determine the compensation package.
“But MPs can only do that if the government makes time for the necessary debates and votes in the Commons.”
Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, backed calls for the women to receive “reasonable and sustained” support and for Parliament to do the “dutiful thing.”
Ms Shortt also stressed that families of affected women who died should be compensated, due to the generational impact it has had on contributing to “distress and poverty.”
“They can’t apologise to them in person — they’re not here anymore — but they can apologise to the family,” she said.
UNISON head of equality Josie Irwin said: “This injustice has been going on for too long. It’s had dreadful financial consequences, especially for women on low incomes.
“The Ombudsman’s recommendation is clear. Ministers must come up with an urgent plan to compensate the thousands of women who ended up in dire financial straits, through no fault of their own.
“A vote in Parliament is needed to speed things up so the money can be made available as soon as possible.”
The ombudsman’s report recommended that the women receive a payout between £1,000 and £2,950 for having a significant or lasting impact on those affected, while campaigners argue that compensation of at least £10,000 would be more appropriate.
