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?

I am a WASPI. Of course I knew about it.
YANBU

@NagathaCrispy

I don't know where you were- you're older than me and it was mainstream news for many, many years.

The women who say they didn't know were living under a rock or totally deaf and blind to announcements in the press, all forms of media , etc etc.

They could, and should, have done their own pension predictions along the way as well using the Gov, websites.

It's a nonsense and I feel embarrassed they are my contemporaries.

I think it’s a really tricky one. There are clearly a few who just weren’t aware, including a couple who sought financial advice but didn’t get told. They took decisions which made them poorer and the ombudsman did say they should have been told properly. I feel like those few should be compensated but I have no idea how you would administer such a complicated scheme.

I absolutely rejoice that you younger women don’t face the same level of injustice that us older women have lived through. You have no idea what it was like living through such inequality.

Honestly? I guess you'd just have to carry on working. Pretty simple really.

They didn’t need more time to make extra pension contributions, they just needed to not hand their notice in for their 60th birthday. People need to stop expecting someone else to pick up the pieces for what they want when they’re perfectly capable of helping themselves.

I think you ought to be glad that we are investing in the generations who will be paying these pensions.

Going a bit off topic but the problem with endowment mortgages was that many were advertised (and yes I still have the promotional brochure somewhere) along the lines that not only will you pay off your mortgage but have an expectation of a lump sum bla bla bla. Key words being ‘will’ and ‘expectation’ rather than possibility. Illustrations that didn’t show minus figures and shortfall. And no attitude to risk review. These are facts that applied to me. Endowments were more expensive when I first bought a house, they were regarded as superior. Maybe some sellers and schemes were totally transparent of the risk being taken, but many weren’t.

This.

I’m fed up of their whining, as are others. A case of read the fucking room.

YANBU.

My mum is a WASPI. Minimum wage job, no private pension, council housed. She doesn't agree with compensation. She just worked the few extra years. Not ideal but she just got on with it. She doesn't get all the hysteria.

It’s bad enough that the government are gaslighting us, without younger women doing the very same.

That’s preventative expenditure in my eyes. Child poverty is mushrooming and it’s not about bailing out the parents - it’s about bailing out the kids on whom free state education would be wasted if they were continually starving (not to mention the future costs to the NHS of all these malnourished kids). If the government ever wants to “waste” money, they should waste it on the youngest members of our society and we will all be the better for it down the line.
Unlike paying the WASPIs compensation. I was aware of this even as a child so I’m baffled as to how so many of my elders could possibly not have known.

Rightsraptor · Today 12:12
All I can tell you are my own circumstances and I had 2 years 4 months notice that I would have wait a further 5 years 11 months than I'd expected before I was eligible to draw my state pension. I still have the letter. Can any of you justify that? How was I supposed to make up for 6 years' worth of pension in 2 years and still live day to day?
You may talk about it being 'all over the news' but there still remained an obligation for the government tell us and not rely on us watching TV or reading newspapers. They had a responsibility and they failed. Now they are ignoring the ombudsman.

@Rightsraptor You should be embarrassed at your own ignorance.
This was first announced in 1995. Where were you then? You'd be in your 40s.

There were ongoing announcements over many years.

How is it that 75% of women DID know but some don't?

You'd also have had the chance to top up your missing pension 'years' by paying a lump sum. Presumably you chose not to engage with that or do it.

Another WASPI here to back you up. I agree it was on the news, on the TV, on the radio, in the newspapers, in womens' magazines, etc so there has to be some personal responsibility taken by those complaining they didn't know.

I have a bit of sympathy for those women who may have retired then got caught with the accelerated age changes but they are very few and I have no sympathy at all for those who retired without checking their entitlements, that is irresponsible in the extreme.
Most of those complaining and demanding compensation are just being greedy and it should not happen when young families are struggling this much

It's not gaslighting to disagree with you.

Same. It struck me at the time as being a major bummer for those impacted but it certainly wasn't a secret.

I find it really concerning that apparently people planned a retirement without actually checking their pension position.

Gaslighting…🤦‍♀️

Yes - another selling point was that the mortgage would be paid off if one of the parties died, as the endowment served as an insurance policy.

At the peak of their popularity, no one foresaw the changes in the financial climate that meant the investments wouldn't perform well enough to repay the mortgage. Yes, people could change to a capital repayment mortgage when it became apparent this was the case, but they then had to repay the capital over a very short term, or extend the mortgage term. As with pensions, it's all about people basing their long-term financial planning on inaccurate information.

I’m a WASPI woman and I think the ‘compensation’ money would be better spent on supporting the younger generation - put it into schools or libraries or better maternity care or nursery care or free swimming lessons for children- any good cause really. £2000-3000 compensation is not changing any individual’s life whilst the whole amount could make a difference.

It’s done. We need to move on.

Another WASPI here to back you up. I agree it was on the news, on the TV, on the radio, in the newspapers, in womens' magazines, etc so there has to be some personal responsibility taken by those complaining they didn't know.

Exactly.

I am a Waspi and totally disagree that they are entitled to compensation.
I was on Maternity leave when the 1995 Pension Act was brought in. It was a gradual yearly increase from 2010 onwards.It was all over the news. A topic of conversation at mum and baby groups etc. I received letters. My Union informed me as did my employer. I was aware that this accelerated.
I think it was 2011 that employers could no longer force you to retire at 65.The same year they brought in a timetable to gradually increase as State Pension age to 66.
From 2026 it will gradually raise to 67. And from 28 a gradual rise to 68.

I can not understand how other people did not know.

I will get my state pension next year at 66 and 3 months.

Currently said DC, will get a state pension on her 68th birthday in 2063. I hope she keeps herself informed.

I really hope that the State Pension continues for future generations.

At least there now is auto-enrolment into pension schemes.

We can not afford to pay compensation to those who choose not to keep themselves informed.

Sadly, and this sounds harsh I know, but the whole process has been initiated by some women who want to make themselves known for a 'cause'. look up the person who initiated this- she's sitting very pretty thanks to her own career. Highly educated, no reliance on a state pension, etc etc.

I'm afraid I'm sceptical and see this as the 'ignorant' Waspis being used for someone else's glory.

Agree. I think my shortfall was about 9k. I converted and paid much higher monthly payments as a result.

I'm a WASPI woman and I don't think it is appropriate for the government to pay compensation. Anyone thinking of retiring has a responsibility to check her own pension forecast before taking any action. You can do it online, it takes minutes. And the change was very well advertised.

Surely though if you move abroad and stop working/paying taxes in your home country you'll realise that may affect your pension entitlements in said home country and you ensure your affairs are in order if you do decide to return, not leaving this to the last minute?
I say that as someone not living in my home country, and not expecting that country to fund my retirement.

Although I appreciate communicating with the government agencies can absolutely be a pain in the ass, isn't it something that's on personal responsibility to keep track of?