‘The government do not believe that paying a flat rate to all women [...] would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money’.
Unison has branded the government’s decision not to pay compensation to women hit by changes to the state pension age as “a cruel blow to a generation of women”.
A recent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report found that decisions about the pension changes made at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 2005 and 2007 led to a 28-month delay in sending out letters to women born in the 1950s.
The Ombudsman’s investigation into the complaints made by Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) against the DWP found maladministration in two key areas.
Firstly, the report stated that the DWP failed to take adequate account of the need for targeted and individually tailored information in 2005.
Secondly, it said the DWP did not act promptly enough on a November 2006 proposal to write directly to affected women about changes to State Pension age, which was not progressed until December 2007.
In the report, the Ombudsman recommended that the DWP pay compensation of £1,000 to £2,950 per person affected.
Responding to the government’s announcement yesterday that it will not compensate WASPI women, UNISON head of equality, Josie Irwin, said: “This decision is a cruel blow to a generation of women, some of whom are now suffering financially.”
She said that the coalition government had “moved the goalposts” regarding when women could claim their state pension.
Irwin added: “Many who devoted their working lives to public service have already died, but there are plenty more who really need the extra financial help they rightly expected in their retirement.”
“The government must find a way to resolve this desperately unfair situation. Refusing to pay compensation is not the answer.”
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologised for the 28-month delay in the DWP sending out letters, but she said the government did not agree with the recommendation to pay compensation.
Kendall said that the government agreed with the PHSO’s findings that “women suffered no direct financial loss because of the maladministration”.
She added that a compensation scheme offering £1,000 to £2,950 per person would cost the government between £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion.
“Given that the vast majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing, the government do not believe that paying a flat rate to all women, at a cost of up to £10.5 billion, would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money,” Kendall said.
Keir Starmer has also defended the decision not to pay compensation, stating that he could not “impose a further burden on the taxpayer”.
In 1995, the government introduced legislation to equalise the state pension age for men and women by raising the female pension age from 60 to 65, with the change set to be phased in between 2010 and 2020.
However, the coalition government accelerated the change, bringing forward the rise in state pension age to 2018 under the 2011 Pensions Act.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 117 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.