AIBU in thinking the government have made the correct decision not to blanket pay all WASPI women £3k? This goes against the Ombudsman recommendations to pay between £1k-3k to every WASPI women.

[caringcarer]

At the time it was in every newspaper for weeks, in the radio and on the TV news a lot of coverage via the media. Most women of this age agree they knew about pension age changes. At the time it was huge. I fail to understand how any women could not have known unless they lived off grid. No individual letters were sent out to the women who would be affected. The Ombudsman's recommendation was that a blanket payment of between £1k-3k be paid to all WASPI women. Labour have just announced no money will be paid out at all. It would have cost the taxpayer up to £10.5 billion pounds on top of the huge amount of my ney it has cost to review it for several years. It is money that the government just don't have. Assuming lessons have been learned and any future changes will see DWP send out letters to any individuals who it will directly affect. The only worry is that it sets a precedent of ignoring what the Ombudsman's recommendations.

No. It's the wrong decision. It should have nothing to do with " can't afford it"- we don't say that to the victims of the PO or the blood scandals, or to gay service people.

The rise in state pension age to 66 was not communicated adequately. On top of a previous rise to 65, this made planning a financial future more than difficult.

And don't forget, these women are of an age when access to pensions was limited as were employment rights and supporting benefits.

The ombudsman recommended level 4 compensation. Older women are just an easy target to say "no".

It's just another example of ageism by the current government. What is the point of the Ombudsman if their recommendations are not followed. Just because people knew about the changes doesn't mean they were able to take action to mitigate those changes.

Not all pensioners are rolling in money, contrary to popular opinion on here.

It’s just another example for me of the government picking on people I didn’t expect them to - editing to say I didn’t vote for them but I’m still disappointed in how they are treating and appear to be going to treat the vulnerable

I have to say I agree with the decision. The government dont have the money to spend and I have to be honest and say unless women were living under a rock how did they not get the information.

A couple of weeks the news were interviewing an elderly person who had just lost her late husband's pension. He had brought a single annuity. She didnt seem to understand that it was lost when he passed. She even mentioned that he took the 'higher' amount as two options had been offered but she only now knew what they really meant when her partner passed away.

The problem is it is very hard to justify when schools and the NHS are on their knees crying out for funds. Allocating such a huge volume of money to this group is hard especially at a time when taxes on working people (yes some pensioners pay tax too) are rising in real and nomimal terms and those still working especially the younger demographic are facing having their pension ages increased and also facing the very real possibility that the state pension becomes means tested.

I am 30 so well outside of the WASPI group, but I remember the adverts. TBH I suspect even if a letter had been sent many would have at best glanced at it and many would have put it straight in the bin.

Funny how Labour found the money to pay off the rail drivers et al, and £50m for syria and everything else, but suddenly it’s to much to find to make payment for an error a government department made?

What error?

They didnt make an error. The WASPI women said they didnt know about the changes. Anyone could claim they didnt understand or didnt get the memo!

Maladministration in communicating the changes...28 months late. As agreed by the ombudsman and the government.

Not so. Maladministration was proven

I doubt it’s a popular opinion but I agree.

There are of course some very sad individual cases, but others outside the Waspi group have also been affected. Whilst the original changes were decided close to 30 years ago some women didn’t realise that their pension age had gone straight from 60 to 65 and they aren’t even covered by the Waspi campaign.

There were other changes in 2016 with no individual letters that also negatively affected many more people.

I think that paying compensation to all, even when many people were actually aware, and had planned accordingly, would just open the floodgates for claims.

The bottom line is that the government is allowed to make changes, and this emphasises we probably have to make our own enquiries from time to time.

Indeed. We all have a duty to keep up with this stuff. The state pension is a state benefit not a pension and it is your resposibility to check your eligibilty.

I started paying NI in 1994 (albeit for a summer job) and my state pension age was 60, it is currently 68 and will probably increase further.

I am as anti-Labour as can be and disagree with almost everything the current government has done since coming to power, but on this one I agree it was the right decision. They should have known with or without a personal letter and the money is needed elsewhere given the state of the UK at the moment.

Problem is although I agree with the decision there seems to be tons of money for train drivers etc. Clearly they are earning enough now so they can refuse Sunday working hence the lack of trains and the last minute cancellations.

Whomever agreed those terms with no changes to the contract needs to get some contract management training.

I agree - I didn't really support the campaign in the first place and also I am finding it a bit galling to think this group can kick up a fuss and get this payout when my age group will likely not see a state pension until we're quote old, if at all.

It’s the right decision. Generations below will be working 67 years or longer

It doesn't affect me directly, although I was (just) born within the range affected, because I do not depend on my state pension and because I have always worked, so have a full state pension. However, I do think that people today often fail to realise the degree of social change that has taken place over my lifetime, especially for women. Where I grew up - an urban environment so not in the sticks! - most women did not stay in education past 16, few had careers and those that did often had massive interuptions in their working lives due to parental responsibilities. They didn't get to worry about the cost of nursery or how many free hours they could get and when they got them, because there were few nurseries and no free hours at all. If I am brutally honest, educated, thinking working class women were pretty rare. The normal expectation was leave school, work for a few years, court, marry and have babies (preferably in that order, but often not). News was something that many men and women paid scant attention to - the big stories, yes, but being "well informed" wasn't often an agenda item. And thinking about pensions was like the far distant future anyway.

So many of these women really didn't know about or understand pensions, eligibility and all the rules that were associated with them. Remember that their parents were amongst the first to ever see a state pension. It wasn't until 1946 that the universal state pension was introduced.

I think it is wrong, although unsurprising, that the Labour government has decided to refuse any payments after the ombudsmans recommendation. But after taking fuel allowance from the elderly, what is leaving many women in poverty? Thank God the Labour Party are on the side of the working men and women of the country. Otherwise we might blink and think the Tories got back in.

Presumably you meant “till 67 years (of age)” not 67 years.

Of course most of the WASPI generation started work at 16. They didn't have half of them going to uni and not starting their careers till 21. And had things like not being able to get an occupational pension if they were part-time (eg when they had small children).

So many of these women really didn't know about or understand pensions, eligibility and all the rules that were associated with them.

This works both ways though. If women were so ill informed, that also means they were not relying on a particular state pension age and can’t say they planned around it.

Yet the Tories had 14 years to compensate but didn't, just ignored the issue.

The train drivers cost the govt very little but the dispute cost the country billions... & money spent in Syria will limit migration into Europe and hence the UK.

No one made an error, everyone knew about the change.

£10.3 billion would solve the dental crisis twice over, what good is £1k, sent to 1 million pensioners going to do for the UK

Of course most of the WASPI generation started work at 16. They didn't have half of them going to uni and not starting their careers till 21

This is true but the current generation of young people pay a phenomenal amount to go to uni and do it because it's difficult to get a professional job without a degree.

My mum is of the WASPI generation and she got free uni education, including an MA after her undergrad, as well as a final salary pension. She retired at 55. Of course she's one of the lucky ones but this kind of thing is a complete fantasy these days. I'm trying to save as much as I can as I have zero expectations of getting anything from the state in retirement.

I have worked since I was 16 I some form or other and as I worked full time every holiday from 16 to 21 I paid NI.

Yanbu. It comes out of future generations pots. Generations that are already struggling.

No it doesn't - because everybody "knew" that the pension for women was paid at 60. That was probably all they knew.

I find it astonishing that a site that lauds itself on being pro-women, driven by equality and "for mums" has so many posters that actually do not support the poorest women in society. But unsurprising. There were more complaints about a handful of rich farmers possibly having to pay inheritance tax.