Overview
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham has declined a proposed Department for Work and Pensions one-off payment of £2,950 for women affected by state pension age changes and will not adopt that specific payout.
- WASPI chair Angela Madden has written to Mr Burnham and Chancellor John Healey asking for a face-to-face meeting to design a negotiated, pragmatic remedy for women born in the 1950s.
- WASPI says about 3.5 million women were affected because they were not properly notified of increases to the State Pension age, and the group cites the DWP’s historical communication failures as the basis for redress.
- Campaigners point to the 2024 Parliamentary Ombudsman findings that recommended compensation and say the new talks should involve the Chancellor so any solution is deliverable within public spending limits.
- Estimates for compensating all affected women have been cited as high as £10 billion, a figure the government views cautiously, so talks are likely to focus on smaller, affordable options and other forms of redress.