State pension age: 1950s-born women urge new DWP minister to ‘put things right’ | Personal Finance | Finance
State pension age changes meant many women born during these years were required to wait an additional six years to reach retirement age. This was due to the fact the state retirement age for women was shifted from 60 to 65 to align with men, and subsequently to 66.
Some of these women have argued they were not provided with ample notice about this change, and have suffered financially and socially as a result.
The matter has once again been raised given the new Prime Minister Liz Truss and her cabinet are now settling into their roles.
Among the new appointments, Chloe Smith has been named as the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
A campaign group known as Woman Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI 2018), has called for Ms Smith to act as it relates to their ongoing calls for support.
READ MORE: WASPI women demand aid from Liz Truss as new Prime Minister
She continued: “The new PM said recently that she had ‘huge sympathy for Waspi women’ and that she doesn’t think our case was handled well.
“She also said that ‘it would be very difficult to go back’ – but we are not asking to turn the clock back.
“We want to move forward and resolve this long-standing issue through fair and fast compensation.”
Ms Simpson references the ongoing investigation into the DWP’s handling of state pension age changes.
READ MORE: Woman, 65, loses £47,000 after state pension age raised
The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO) last year found the Department should have provided affected women with more notice of moves to raise their state pension age.
It was found this was “maladministration” from the Department relating to this matter.
In August, the PHSO said it would be continuing its work on stage two of the investigation into DWP communications.
It was acknowledged between 1995 and 2004, the DWP’s communication did reflect the standards the PHSO expected it to meet.
The WASPI 2018 campaign states they are not seeking the return of the state pension age to 60.
They are also not hoping to recoup “lost pensions” in full, their Chair added.
A DWP spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “The Government decided over 25 years ago that it was going to make the state pension age the same for men and women as a long-overdue move towards gender equality.
“Both the High Court and Court of Appeal have supported the actions of the DWP, under successive governments dating back to 1995, and the Supreme Court refused the claimants permission to appeal.”
