Overview

• The Labour government has declined to pay £2,950 in compensation per affected woman, as recommended by the Parliamentary Ombudsman in 2024.
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves argue that compensation costs, estimated at up to £10.5 billion, are unaffordable and unnecessary given high awareness of pension age changes.
• WASPI chair Angela Madden warns Labour risks losing votes to Reform UK in the next General Election if the issue remains unresolved.
• The pension age changes, accelerated by the 2011 Pensions Act, left millions of women born between 1950 and 1955 facing delays of up to six years in accessing their pensions.
• Ombudsman Rebecca Hilsenrath criticized the government for acknowledging maladministration in communication but refusing to provide restitution for affected women.