The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign has demanded justice after Labour leadership candidate Andy Burnham ruled out compensation payments for three million women affected by changes to the state pension age. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has begun sending letters to pensioners impacted by the age hike, which disrupted retirement plans for many.
Background of the State Pension Age Change
The DWP is writing to individuals regarding state pension changes following a historic injustice that saw three million WASPI women find their retirements thrown into disarray by a threshold increase. This change scuppered their retirement plans, leading to widespread calls for compensation.
Separately, WASPI women faced a double blow this week after Andy Burnham emerged as a likely next Prime Minister following the resignation of Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer. Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has indicated he will not pursue compensation for the affected women.
WASPI Campaign Response
The WASPI campaign, which represents people who claim the DWP state pension but allege they have been overpaid, stated: "The Prime Minister's resignation now presents an opportunity for his successor to deliver on the Parliamentary Ombudsman's recommendations for WASPI women and give us the justice we are due."
"WASPI women's confidence in politics has been badly damaged by administrations of all colours for far too long. Now is the chance to finally turn this around," the campaign added.
With nominations for the Labour leadership opening on 9 July, the group said it is seeking to meet with all leadership candidates in the weeks ahead to discuss what fair compensation looks like. "Now there is a real opportunity to restore WASPI women's trust in politicians, that has been so badly damaged by governments of all colours," the campaign said on X, formerly Twitter.
Ombudsman's Recommendation and Government Stance
Ministers said last year they would not give any compensation to the women affected, despite a ruling by the parliamentary and health service ombudsman in March 2024 that they should be compensated. The Ombudsman recommended payouts of £2,950 per person.
However, a spokeswoman for the Labour leadership hopeful told the Financial Times that Burnham considered the compensation case closed. This has sparked outrage among campaigners who argue that justice has been denied.
DWP Letters and Campaigner Reaction
After the DWP's letters were confirmed, Angela Madden, chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), said: "The DWP's long-awaited action plan is deeply disappointing."
"The Government seems to believe that writing to people before their State Pension age changes is a new idea, but WASPI women received letters just one to two years before their pension age changed. Even now, letters are being sent to women born a decade later only one to three years before theirs changes. This is not progress," she added.
"It also reveals the DWP's contempt for the women it failed and its resistance to meaningful reform. The Parliamentary Ombudsman knew the DWP would not accept its findings, which is precisely why it took the extraordinary step of laying its report before Parliament, leaving MPs to decide the fate of WASPI women harmed by the DWP's failures."
"Any attempt to learn lessons is no substitute for compensation which the Parliamentary Ombudsman has recommended ministers to pay," Madden concluded.
