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Women born in the 1950s who were financially impacted by changes to the State Pension age have again been told that no compensation will be paid, after the government reconsidered the case and upheld its earlier decision.
Campaigners say many women were not given enough warning to prepare for a later retirement age, often leaving them struggling to make ends meet. However, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told Parliament last week that Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigners would be denied compensation.
Here, we explain what’s happened and why the government has again rejected the Ombudsman’s findings that compensation should be paid.
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What is the WASPI campaign?
The government first announced plans to increase the State Pension age for women in 1995, with the aim of equalising it with that of men by 2020. However, many women say they were left in the dark about the changes and did not receive adequate notice to adjust their retirement plans.
The increase in the State Pension age for women from 60 to 65 was accelerated under the Pensions Act 2011, bringing forward the timetable so that equalisation was reached by 2018. This was followed by a further rise to 66 between 2018 and November 2020.
Many women born in the 1950s, those who expected to retire at 60 during the 2010s, say they were blindsided by the changes. Some had already left work, taken on caring responsibilities, or made other irreversible decisions based on the expectation that they would receive their State Pension at 60.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign was formed to seek redress for what it says was a failure by the government to properly communicate the changes. The group has consistently said that while it supports the principle of equalising State Pension ages, it objects to the way the changes were implemented.
In 2021, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found that the DWP had failed to communicate the changes adequately, describing this as “maladministration”. The Ombudsman said letters should have been sent to affected women from December 2006, so that all were informed by 2009 at the latest.
Although the Ombudsman’s final report was originally due to be published in March 2023, this was delayed by a judicial review funded by the WASPI campaign. The challenge focused on the Stage 2 findings of the investigation, which campaigners argued were “seriously mistaken”. The claim was settled in 2024, the Stage 2 report was quashed, and the investigation was restarted.
Stages 2 (“injustice”) and 3 (“redress”) were completed later in 2024, and a final report was published in May that year. The PHSO concluded that women had been wronged and recommended that the DWP issue an apology and pay compensation of up to £2,950 each, at a potential cost of £10.5bn.
Since then, WASPI campaigners have been pushing for the government to accept the findings and make payments.
However, in December 2024, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said compensation would not be paid, citing the burden on taxpayers. The WASPI campaign subsequently launched a judicial review, after which the government agreed to withdraw its decision and reconsider the issue.
Following that review, ministers have once again concluded that compensation will not be paid. echoing arguments first set out in December 2024 when compensation was initially refused.
In a statement, the government said: “The PHSO’s assumption that unsolicited letters, if received earlier, would definitely have been read and recalled is flawed, as the evidence suggests otherwise. However, this flaw is not the only basis for the Government’s decision. The evidence is also clear that the majority of 1950s-born women knew that State Pension age was changing. While not everyone knew their exact State Pension age, it is reasonable to expect that those aware of the increase would seek to understand their own position.
“It would not be the correct use of taxpayers’ money to provide compensation to women who were aware that the State Pension age was changing, or for whom an earlier letter would have made no difference. Creating a scheme to assess individual impact, or one based on self-certification, would be a highly impractical and time-consuming process, particularly given the difficulties of establishing what individuals knew around 20 years ago.”
What happens next
WASPI campaigners are adamant that their battle does not end here.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “We and our lawyers are urgently reviewing whether another judicial review claim should be launched. We need to make that decision carefully with the best possible legal advice. Asking WASPI women to support a third judicial review case is not a step we want to take lightly, despite the outrageousness of yesterday’s announcement.
“As soon as we have decided what to do, WASPI women will be the first to be told.
“One thing is certain. We cannot and will not accept Mr McFadden’s statement as the final word on the injustice suffered by women like us, nor on whether we should be compensated. We have come too far. As we said in our legal briefing to MPs, hundreds of whom support us, the injustice is real and it is stubborn. It cannot be rationalised away and it will not be forgotten.”
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