AIBU to think that WASPI women should not be entitled to compensation?

[mugglewump]

They've been on the news again marching for compensation in a climate where the government is having to make very difficult decisions about funding to stop our debt ever increasing.

I think there are far more deserving cases for goverment money than women who didn't act on information at the time and sort their pensions out or keep working (p/t or f/t) until retirement age.

Moreover, the people paying this compensation are those who will be working until they are 67 to 70 to claim a state pension. Surely, it's a bit ick to expect them to bail out women who retired at 60?

One years notice is plenty of time to arrange NOT to retire.
It's not as if it was the day before and you'd already handed your notice in, and your employer had already replaced you.

This. What these ladies essentially want compensating for is not the financial impact (it was possible to mitigate that by continuing to work). They want compensation essentially for disappointment because they wanted to stop work and couldn't afford to.

They could still work if they are in need of more income.
There are plenty of places that will employ people in their 60s for a few hours a week. Many of the bigger stores do this - I know someone who started in a supermarket aged over 70.

Very odd. Only the possessors of vaginas have been subject to this treatment though so you do you if you like to celebrate unfairness. Very fashionable just now, well done.

If someone has been paying in to a plan (pension) for years, you shouldn't be able to move the goalposts later on.

In my case, I started paying NI contributions in 1986, aged 16, and at that point I consider that I had a virtual handshake with the Govt, that in return for my monthly contributions, for the next 44 years, they would pay me out, from aged 60.

How the fuck is it ok, to renege on that half way through the deal? It isn't. And it effects every single one of us, that was led to believe that the age of 60 was our retirement age.

This

It doesn't really matter what a poll says when those with the full facts have decided in the women's favour, but really it's quite simple ... Labour have decided this demographic aren't their key voters, so to hell with them

How would they know if they weren’t told ? Part of the criticism levelled at DWP by the ombudsman’s’ report was that notification was patchy, not in a proper time frame, and much of the information given where they did notify, was incorrect.

Inequality doesn’t have to just be in the outcome. The inequality is in their treatment. It isn’t a race to the bottom either.

Yes, this is how I see it too.

How true. I can fit into many categories, I'm a woman, a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend,a MIL (don't shoot me) a sister and more but fundamentally I'm a human being so I'm not going to claim one of those subcategories is the most important. I'll stick with being a human being as the overriding category.

Absolutely this! I'm a WASPI woman and the school leaving age was raised from 15 to 16 in 1972 when I was at secondary school. Complete nonsense to suggest children were leaving school and working at the age of 13 in the 1960s .In fact, so much nonsense being spouted on this thread, including all the 'poor little women who couldn't read and had to rely on their husbands for everything'. Were not talking here about women in their 90s (and that includes my mum and her friends who all worked after becoming parents in the 60s and 70s and who had their own pensions) but women born between 1950 and 1960. The oldest of whom would be 75 .

Where do you want the compensation to come from? Monies intended for the NHS perhaps, or education, or defence.

I,m another WASPI woman. I still have the 1995 letter advising me that my retirement age was now 62 years 8months. I didn't get 3 letters that others have claimed were sent out, and I don't recall seeing anything in the press- but I had small children at the time.
I didn't get anything in 2010 when the pension age went to 65 but there was a lot in the papers . The 2010 irritated me greatly as it was very short notice in terms of financial planning.
I am not convinced that compensation should be paid to all WASPI women, but there are those who have suffered considerably.

Looking back, I wish I had had the sense and insight to have done similar. Mind you, I just don’t recall discussing private pensions being a thing at all amongst me and my friends or peers. Not saying I couldn’t have looked - as certainly I would do now - it just wasn’t really a thing (basic job, not career, private sector, shit wage spent on the essentials every month, etc), so until I joined a company that had a scheme being honest it never crossed my mind. (I did know about the pension age changes that came in)

Whereas the conservatives made it their top priority when the report came out and did precisely nothing.

No way I could have known if UK Govt didn’t inform me. We didn’t get UK TV or radio and to collect a random newspaper meant a long journey( hours) to the airport. HMRC sent me a paper tax return, they sent me a paper tax bill. I received paper statements regarding NI contributions I continued to pay but there was definitely no letter about retirement age changing. I can’t change the facts.

You were informed as early as 1995 that the age was going up. At which point you'd be 25.

How can you possibly pretend that wasn't enough notice?

You aren't even a Waspi!

You can retire at any age you want to. Just don't expect the tax payer to keep you via a state pension from age 60.

How does anyone know anything about the policies and laws that affect them? Do you genuinely expect a personalised notification about each and every change to the law that might affect you?

But if you use this argument then loads more people should be compensated too, including men. Anyone who was working in 1989. And subsequent generations now starting work - as its quite possible pension age (and what it covers) will change as years go on.

Well that means far more people than the WASPI's would be getting compensation. When I started work female retirement age was 60. God knows when I'll be able to retire now. My DH started work with a retirement age of 65. His has gone up too.
My workplace pension (NHS) also changed. Should they give me compensation too?
When I started paying NI contributions it covered my prescription costs and dental care. Not any more.
I mean, yes I'd love to get compensation from all of the above but I won't.

But your NI contributions are not exclusive to you. State Pension is defined as a benefit and paid out of the welfare budget. So your NI contributions are only used to determine what level of SP is payable - not to future proof it. The rules and regulations applying to SP can be amended in the same way as state benefits are in rounds of welfare reform.

There is a common misconception that NI funding for state pension payments, is ring-fenced for the future. This is simply not true - state pension payments today are funded by national insurance payments of those in employment TODAY. That’s how it works

You can’t possibly think that there would be zero policy changes through successive governments over a period of decades?

The point is not one of fairness. Of course it isn't fair.

The point is that the government moves goalposts all the time. Policy changes happen all the time. At what point do we say we cannot give compensation to people who are affected by these changes (which is all of us to greater and lesser degrees).

The pension age is still being increased all the time. When I started in my first "proper" job as an adult in 2009 my expected pension age was 66. It will increase to 68 in the next few years. I assume it will increase again at some point over the next 30 years (or more likely be abolished entirely). There is already rumblings about it being increased to 70. So what is the difference between me and you? Why should you get compensation for a policy change when I won't?

It would mean almost everyone getting compensation - we don't know yet what the retirement age is when we will retire. It is moving up every few years.

The other thing that always strikes me is the official position from the WASPI campaign always focuses on the legal injustice with lack of notice etc. But then whenever they interview actual women they invariably mainly grumble about the women's pension age being aligned with men & its clear that's the main gripe for many, not the lack of notice. Lots will refer to their husband being 5-10 years older and suggest it was unreasonable they couldn't retire together.

The few who weren't informed, perhaps compensate, but we cannot fund this at the cost of the younger, working generation most of whom can't get on the housing ladder.
Where's the money to compensate coming from? The country is on its arse and lots of working people are in financial difficulty.

I worked till 70. You don't have to work many hours to get the equivalent of the SRP. I gradually reduced my hours so at 70 I was doing 2 half days a week but of course by then I did have my pension as well. I thought it was a good transition to retirement.