Column: Justice for WASPI Women Must Not Be Delayed

With 5,200 women affected in Mid Sussex, compensation must not be delayed.

Earlier this month I had the privilege of meeting campaigners from the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) group. In Mid Sussex alone, there are 5,200 women impacted by changes to the state pension age who have been left facing financial uncertainty and emotional strain through no fault of their own.

Many women born in the 1950s were not given adequate notice about changes to equalise the pension age for men and women. As a result, some women only discovered close to retirement that they would have to wait several more years to receive their state pension. This has caused significant financial hardship, as many had made life plans and retirement arrangements based on the assumption that they could retire at 60.

This is not just a local issue— nationally, more than 290,000 WASPI women have died since the campaign for fair compensation began. These are people who gave decades of service to our society, only to be let down in their retirement. 

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has investigated this injustice, and concluded in its final report published in March this year that there was maladministration in how the changes to the state pension age were communicated to women born in the 1950s. Just before the general election, the Work and Pensions Select Committee endorsed the recommendations of the PHSO and said that standardised payments to all those affected should be delivered, with the option for the worst affected to claim an additional payment for direct financial loss.

The new government must act swiftly on the Ombudsman’s recommendations. I have written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, urging her to make this a priority. We must ensure that the necessary compensation is delivered quickly and fairly.

With an impacted woman passing away every 13 minutes without having seen justice, the time to act is now.