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.

Did they work full time? I hear a lot of older women say "I've always worked" and then you find out they worked about 10 hours a week nearly all their lives or something.

Younger generations are already over-funding older ones and it is not sustainable.

Why should someone who won't retire until they are 70 (if they retire at all) pay for someone else to retire at 60?

Another case of the 'me' generation taking as much as they can with no thought for those to come.

Nobody’s retired at 60 for a decade. Do keep up.

The differences of opinion on here and the comments that have been made, for me, highlight the reality that the WASPI issue is far more complex than most people seem to believe.

There is one group of Waspi women who had their pension age put back, but were able to plan for it over a reasonable (albeit relatively short) period. I am one of this group. There is a subset of this group who then had a further delay in their pension with only a couple of years' notice. This left them with the impossible task of making (for example) what they thought would be adequate income for three years, stretch over five. Whatever they did or didn't know, the reality is that no one can stretch three year's income over five. People outside this subgroup had to stretch five years' income over seven, or ten years' income over twelve, or whatever, all of which are difficult but attainable. But this particular subgroup got a very raw deal. And it's not just a question of somehow surviving those two years and then picking up where you left off. In order to survive people had to cash in assets that were essential to their future plans. When they were gone the whole future was different.

I'm less certain about compensation for most of the Waspi women but I support the idea of compensation for the subgroup who were shafted. It's not about 'they should have known' or 'they should have taken responsibility'. Even women who were in full possession of all the facts would have been unable to reorganise their financial affairs in order to plug a gap of that size in that short a period.

They have ignored the Ombudsman though, what if every company just thinks now that doesn't matter, we will just ignore it. The banks, the energy companies.

I agree OP, but it's not a popular opinion.

The issue is that many of the women affected immediately also had to leave their jobs because there was no maternity leave, they needed the state pension. I'm at the other end of the cohort as it was announced in my 20's so whilst I do have a private pension maturing at 60, At least I got 35 years to make arrangements, my mother did not

Something people seem to be missing is that there was no equal pay and not all jobs were open to women. There was also the expectation that women did all the wifework.

A woman couldn't get a credit card without their husbands signature until 1974 etc.

Many of these women did work but they were underpaid, they still paid their stamp etc. They have been treated poorly.

Isn't that what the WASPIs are complaining about?

Gawd I can’t believe we are on this again -it’s hilarious that people cannot believe we did not know -I’m a wasps and I did not know -I also got the Daily Telegrapg regularly and invested in shares which I read up on but I did not know the pension age had changed. Fortunately DH earned loads so I’m fine thanks -and to say we should regularly check -wtf call DWP monthly to ask if there’s changes, check community council hasn’t changes, any other allowances altered ?? So everyone of us contacts them on a ?monthly basis hahaha

But the DWP did write to us to tell us or to me at least. I’m very nearly 67 and I distinctly remember getting letters to the effect that my SPA was changing.

They do seem intent on alienating as many people as they possibly can.

No.

Some of them definitely are complaining about that

No.
It's about the maladministration of a 28 month delay in telling women about changed pension age. Waspi have never campaigned for or wanted women's retirement age to return to 60.

We’re not. Go away and do some research. We’re 100% behind equalisation of pension age.

Why, of all the groups getting various compensation payouts, has this group be singled out not to receive an agreed amount?

Actually if you're on universal credit you do have to do that monthly. But no, people shouldn't have to at all.

Go away and do your own research.

This is from the WASPI site, which makes it clear it’s about the 1995 Act as well as the others,

The initial aim of the WASPI Campaign was to achieve fair transitional arrangements for all women affected by the rapid increase to the SPA, with little notice to make alternative arrangements. This translated into a ‘bridging’ pension to provide an income until State Pension Age, not means-tested, and with recompense for losses for those women who have already reached their SPA

I think it would be unconscionable to ask young people to pay higher taxes to fund payments to older women who's pensions aren't quite as good as they'd hoped, but are still a lot better than anything young people could hope for.

I agree op. There's a lot of strain on public finances at the moment. If anyone in the affected cohort didn't know their state pension age, they should have found out. The people affected are those retiring now. They're not women who have had any significant time in their working lives with no equal pay act, etc.

It’s nothing like the PO or blood scandal …..

That's pretty easy. Everyone is expected to check your pension entitlement periodically over the years and ensure you understand what you are on track to receive and you can plan accordingly.

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Aren't we talking about before this website existed?

(And actually most people I know didn't know it existed when I came across it by chance 5 years ago — including highly educated friends I've told about it.)

Everyone I know started working at 16/17 alongside college and uni. The only people who didnt work at uni were finded by rich parents

By the time I can claim my state and NHS pension (without significant penalties) I will have worked 52 years at the current estimates. I fully anticipate that this will rise before I get there.