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Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigners in Ayrshire and Arran have joined thousands of other women across the country to donate over £100,000 to a Crowdjustice appeal to fund a High Court judicial review.
The milestone marks the campaign reaching its initial £100,000 target as they initiate legal action against the Parliamentary Ombudsman for ‘failing to follow due process’ in regard to their investigation of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The Parliamentary Ombudsman has been investigating the DWP since October 2018 over their failures to communicate changes to the state pension age.
This saw millions of 1950s-born women affected by a lack of notice in the rise from 60 to 65 (and later 66), plunging tens of thousands into poverty.
It is estimated that more than 4,750, 1950s-born women across Ayrshire and Arran have been affected by DWP maladministration in relation to changes to the state pension age.
Of these, an estimated 27 per cent across the county have struggled to pay energy bills this winter.
The Ombudsman concluded in 2021 that DWP was guilty of maladministration in its handling of State Pension age changes, saying: “We consider that, if DWP had made a reasonable decision in August 2005 and then acted promptly, it would have written to affected women to tell them about changes to their state pension age by, at the latest, December 2006.”
However, the Stage 2 report – due to be published shortly – makes an assumption that women would only have received notice of the change to their state pension age as late as 2009, three years later than the Stage 1 report suggested.
WASPI campaigners in Ayrshire and Arran say that women have been left “furious” by the PHSO’s “irrational” approach and have been left “digging deep” to fund a legal challenge.
Testimonies from affected women on the Crowdjustice site speak of women being an “easy target” with others arguing the DWP “should be made accountable for the mistakes they have made [given] many of the women affected are no longer alive”.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 WASPI women have died across the UK since the Parliamentary Ombudsman commenced their investigation in October 2018.
Susan Bolland and Ann Fraser are the WASPI campaign coordinators for Ayrshire and Arran.
Susan said: “Thousands of 1950s-born women across Ayrshire and Arran have been badly let down by DWP failures and the flaws in the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report mean we have no choice but to seek legal action.
“Many women in our area had their retirement plans wrecked by the lack of notice around changes to their state pension age and have been struggling to get by ever since. Yet, despite this, many have still managed to dig deep and donate to the campaign.
“This is testament to the longstanding commitment of WASPI women to get justice. It sends a message to both the Ombudsman and the Government that we are not going away.”
