A fresh online petition has been launched by the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign (WASPI), urging the UK Government to “fairly compensate” women born in the 1950s who were affected by changes to their State Pension age. The petition also demands that the UK Government “urgently respond” to the recommendations in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) final report, by March 21, 2015.
This date marks a year since the Ombudsman released the results of its six-year probe into complaints against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The report concluded that women born in the 1950s should have received at least 28 months’ more individual notice from the DWP about the changes to their State Pension age.
The PHSO also stated that for women unaware of the changes, the chance that additional notice would have given them to adjust their retirement plans was lost due to delay. The report declared that “Parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for providing that appropriate remedy” and suggested compensation equivalent to Level four on its banding scale, which is worth between £1,000 and £2,950.
READ MORE: WASPI women face agonising wait for compensation update after DWP changes
Despite repeated calls from across the House and campaign groups, there has been no progress on a compensation plan.
Both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kensall have hinted that there will be news “soon” or in the “near future” regarding potential compensation, but no dates are set in stone yet. Buckets of Brits have been throwing their support behind an e-petition since WASPI campaign boss Jane Cowley threw it up on the UK Government’s official digital corkboard last Thursday night, reports the Daily Record.
The petition, boldly titled ‘Introduce a compensation scheme for WASPI women’, lays down the gauntlet: “We call on the Government to fairly compensate WASPI women affected by the increases to their State Pension age and the associated failings in DWP communications.”
It doesn’t mince words about what they expect from the bigwigs: “We want the Government to urgently respond to PHSO report and set up a compensation scheme by 21 March 2025.”
Jane Cowley wasn’t shy about giving them an earful: “In March 2024, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman stated that women born in the 1950s were entitled to some dosh and an ‘I’m sorry’ because the DWP made a hash of it all.”
She piled on with the knowledge that MPs across the party lines, not to mention 68 per cent of Joe Public according to their own homework, think these gals deserve better. But, as she points out, it’s got to be the Government that steps up to the plate.
The petition wraps things up with a gut punch, laying out just how dire the timing is for the ladies waiting for their dues: “We have calculated that with one affected woman dying every 13 minutes, there is no time for further delay.”
Once the petition hits 10,000 signatures, it warrants a written response from the UK Government. If it reaches 100,000, the Pensions Committee will consider it for a parliamentary debate.
The full petition can be viewed on the petitions-parliament website.