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.

Seem to be a lot of people conflating the change to the state pension age with the communication of the change. To be honest I think the WASPI campaign do this themselves (blur whether they're campaigning about the maladministration point or the fairness of the change to the state pension age).

The parliamentary ombudsman ONLY found that there was maladministration in the communication.

There's an argument that an Ombudsman finding in any other sector would lead to a payout (think the PPI mis-selling scandal).

But given that the £10bn would have to be found from cuts or tax rises, not hitting shareholder payouts, I think it's much harder to justify. Basically - that £10bn would be better spent elsewhere. Put some of it into a fund to help retired women in financial hardship - at least then it'd be targeted rather than a blanket payout that would pay for at least as many holidays as it would energy bills.

Much rather they spaff our money away on ridiculous energy schemes they are for greed not green reasons and continue funding overseas wars than give to woman of the UK. The whole thing is a mess and women are easy targets.

The Tories did well here. The ombudsman found that there should be payouts, so they kicked the can down the road until after the election. Now Kier and his pals, all of whom were vociferous supporters of the WASPI women have egg on their faces.

It was said by the PM today , there is no money to deal with this.

Giving money to these women, who have had to simply work a little bit longer until they got their pension (but not as long as I will have to do) would be totally ridiculous given all of the other things it could and should be spent on.

As usual, the media coverage of this just illustrates their massive anti-labour bias.

It wasn't on their manifesto before this election. The economy wasn't as bad in 2019 as it is in 2024.

I'm a Waspi woman and I didn't vote Labour in.
I don't vote Conservative in either because they all make false promises and an arse of everything

Just say it’s a just cause but there’s no money, ffs.

That's basically what this says.
"I do understand, of course, the concern of the Waspi women. But also I have to take into account whether it's right at the moment to impose a further burden on the taxpayer, which is what it would be."

It wasn't on anyone's manifesto this time, Wombat. But Labour politicians were out with the WASPI women demonstrating their support, and it was on the Labour manifesto when Corbyn failed to get in.
Vintage 1955, I am a WASPI woman, and when the ombudsman declared that there should be compensation, I said that if I got a payout, I'd be eating my hat. Wonder how much money was wasted on the ombudsman? Shouldn't have bothered if they were going to ignore the findings.

Seem to be a lot of people conflating the change to the state pension age with the communication of the change. To be honest I think the WASPI campaign do this themselves (blur whether they're campaigning about the maladministration point or the fairness of the change to the state pension age).

I agree that there is a conflation. There was someone on the bbc talking about 6 years of pension had been stolen from her. Which is fine for her to think, but no one is campaigning for the actual change to be reversed.

This applies to more than women born in the 50s though. Any woman born before 1979 reached 16 and the start of their working life when the state pension age was 60. And indeed, if born after 6 April 1978, your SPA is currently 68 and may rise, so 8 more years.

In fact, I think that every currently working person, male and female, has had their state pension age increased during their working life.

All because Mr Barber complained it wasn't fair he couldn't retire at 60 like women...

That's debatable. It also doesn't change the fact they campaigned on the issue or impact the principle.

I know it wasn't on anyones manifesto this time. When it was in 2019 Labour didn't win the election. They only won when is wasn't on their manifesto in 2024 so they are no obligation to support compensation now.

Yeah, no-one is going to campaign, because no-one has had 6 years of their pension stolen! 🙄

Nobody promised compensation for Waspi women in 2024.

What a load of numb buggers they are.

I mean there is ample proof of this-every time many of them open their mouth in what usually is a nasal or foghorn twang-but to be photographed with signs showing support for the women takes it to a new level.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs they may as well have liar or hypocrite or both written over their heads!

Do they never think. There they were playing student politics and, yet again, it has bitten them on their collective arse.

It's cruel to laugh at the afflicted but they are too numb to know they are numb.

It's just another lie that Labour told before the election. Pics in the paper of Starmer Rayner, Reeves etc al holding up placards in support of Waspi women. Lying bastards. Funny though that unions are typically Labour voters and pensioners are not. And also strange that there's enough to pay train drivers ridiculous increases, enough to support endless illegal migrants, to pay for wars in other countries, to send aid to countries which have space programs etc etc. Can't believe anyone was thick enough to believe one word Labour said in the election campaign.

They didn't they were going to pay WASPI women before the 2024 campaign though so no lie was told.

Labour didn't campaign this time to pay compensation it wasn't in the manifesto. Train drivers work for private companies not the government.
Agree if people were stupid enough to think something that wasn't in the manifesto was going to come true then I have some magic beans to sell. Maybe it's the same people who send money to Nigerian princes .

But what exactly would have changed in practice had you been given more notice of the change? This is what I don't understand. What exactly would you have been able to do differently had you had more notice? As it seems to be the lack of notice that people are complaining about.

You can't magic money out of thin air It's a fact that notice or not, people were always just going to have to work a few extra years.

You do realise that private pensions and workplace pensions T and Cs also change every so often?

YOu're talking about a potential working life of nearly 50 years for most people. Are you seriously saying that for half a century there must be no changes to someone's Ts and Cs for a state pension scheme which relies on contributions from the generation below? Do you realise how much this country has changed demographically in 50 years? The only way you could guarantee that a state pension scheme would remain exactly the same all of someone's working life is to apply some kind of control to the country's demographics? I take it you support the assisted dying bill? That would be a good start, do you think?

I'm obviously joking, but I don't know what people expect. A country changes. The needs of its population changes. Its financial situation changes. Inflation is up and down like a yo yo over that many years. Anything at all provided by the state is liable to change over time. Anything. Come on, everyone knows this. You must take the responsibility to provide for yourself. If you want a guaranteed income in retirement plan to buy an annuity. And, guess what, even the rates for THOSE change!

I am beyond livid, and have been since the day I found out I have to pay 7 more years of NI contributions, and in return, get 7 years less in state pension paid to me

The reason for 7 more years of NI contributions is that the generation above you was starting to live longer than it was historically. That's a good thing, no? Your own generation is expected to live even longer than that. You don't NEED the state pension to start at the age it was given a couple of generations previous. I just don't see the issue. Where exactly do you want the money to come from to cover for people's longer lives?

I didn't ask for it. I said that I agreed that compensation should not be paid and that I had in fact received a letter in the 1990s making the changes very clear to me. This particular post that you have responded to was just an answer to people talking about maternity rights.
There are swings and roundabouts. A lot of things are more difficult now ( buying a house for example) but women born in the early 50s became adults at a time of great change in women's position.
Prior to 1979 you could be sacked for getting pregnant. When I was 25 I tried to make an enquiry about a mortgage and was told they couldn't talk to me and I needed to return with my husband or father.
We were expected to giggle at sexual harassment in our smoky workplaces but I did get a full student grant and with my husband bought a property which grew in value. I don't have a lot of sympathy for the people wanting to be compensated. There are other priorities.

There are people bandying these figures around, but It’s actually 1 billion!

Do we expect the same declaration for everything we can't afford? Obviously not.