The annual benefits uprating was approved in Parliament last week, which means that most benefits and State Pension will rise by 10.1 per cent in April. During the debate before the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2023 was submitted to the House of Commons, several MPs called on the UK Government not to forget the plight of WASPI women.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, now an Independent MP, SNP’s David Linden and Amy Callaghan, along with Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain, all took the opportunity to highlight the ongoing challenges faced by millions of women born in the 1950s who missed out on State Pension following the change in retirement age from 60 to 65 between April 2010 and November 2018.
The 1995 Pensions Act increased the State Pension age for women to 65 in order to equalise the age with men. However, in July 2021, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) ruled that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to communicate the changes with enough urgency, finding it guilty of ‘maladministration’, and is currently investigating the harm caused.
The SNP work and pensions spokesperson, David Linden, said: “It appears to be the worst kept secret in Whitehall that Ministers are expected to announce that the retirement age will be increased to 68 at some point in the 2030s, not in 2046 as previously expected.
“To be crystal clear, my party opposes any further increase in the state Pension retirement age. Indeed, the Scottish Government, when they responded to the British Government’s review of the State Pension age restated their opposition to any changes to the current timelines for increasing the state pension age.”
He continued: “This might seem like an abstract debate, but these things have real-life effects. Recent analysis by Age UK shows that 1.5 million pre-State Pension age households have no savings at all.
“We must therefore avoid the situation faced by the WASPI women, who faced having to work longer with little time to replan for retirement. On the subject of WASPI women, I again make clear my support for their cause.”
His party colleague, Amy Callagha added: “Pensioners have been abandoned continually by successive Tory Governments who have broken the Triple Lock, abandoned the WASPI women, provided a lower State Pension relative to average earnings than most other advanced economies, and ended the free television licence.
“According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s recent UK Poverty 2023 report, 1.7 million pensioners in the UK were living in poverty in 2020-21.”
Jeremy Corbyn took the opportunity to highlight “the number of pensioners who are entitled to support beyond the level of the State Pension but are simply unaware of it, do not know how to apply for it and do not get it” – referring to the DWP’s ongoing Pension Credit awareness campaign, which has seen an increase of 177 per cent in take-up since April 2022.
The former Labour leader said: “I also want to mention the women who were duped by the way in which the State Pension retirement age was raised and are now living in desperate poverty – colloquially known as the WASPI women. I think they deserve justice.
“They were very badly treated and my friend, the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), certainly took their case up when he was shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
“Pensioner households, like everyone else, are facing terrible stress at the moment from food and energy price rises.”
Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain is a staunch supporter of the WASPI campaign and was an active participant in the recent State Pension age debate in Parliament.
Ms Chamberlain said: “I wish the [UK] Government would pledge to follow the ombudsman’s recommendations on compensation for WASPI women, which, as we move into stage three, would provide some degree of comfort to those campaigners.”
She also touched on the ongoing administration exercise correcting errors in State Pension payments, encouraging the DWP to look at underpayments due to divorced women.
The Lib Dem work and pensions spokesperson said: “The LEAP [legal entitlements and administrative practices] exercise is looking at historical underpayments, and it seems to be forever increasing its remit and timescales. Perhaps one day it will finally look at underpayments to divorced women.
“Dividing pensions on divorce is incredibly complicated, and the Government have been deliberately blinded by not including that group. I know that the former Pensions Minister in the coalition, Steve Webb, has spoken out about this issue before.
“I urge the Government to listen to him, if not to me.”
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In his closing remarks, DWP Minister for employment, Guy Opperman, said: “On pensioners, it is rich of the Labour party to criticise. I continue to defend Labour’s actions during its 13 years in government in respect of the women’s State Pension, but I was reminded of the 75p increase, which my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon [Justin Tomlinson] highlighted in his outstanding speech.
“Bear in mind that in 2009-10, the State Pension was worth less than £100, and that as of April this year, it will be worth in excess of £200. That is a massive increase under the coalition and Conservative Governments.”
You can read the latest on the ombudsman’s investigation into complaints about communication of changes to women’s State Pension age here.
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