What is a Waspi woman and what happened to them?

In the 1990s, there was an ongoing dispute regarding the government's pension system.

Since 1948, when the scheme was launched, men became eligible to receive it at the age of 65, while women could claim their payments starting at 60 years old.

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Due to the increase in women joining the workforce and living longer, it has been suggested that it is fair to synchronize the retirement age of women with that of men.

In 1995, the Conservative government under John Major brought in the Pensions Act, which laid out a schedule for implementing the alteration.

The law stated that the eligible age for receiving the government-provided retirement benefits would gradually rise throughout the span of 10 years ranging from the year of 2010 till 2020.

However, when 2010 arrived and David Cameron's coalition government came into power, they aimed to reduce spending and save money.

Back in 2011, a fresh Pensions Act was put in place and it did not only reduce the time frame for elevating women's pension age by two years to attain 65 but also pushed the general retirement age to 66 by October 2020 - resulting in the government saving around £30bn.

The modifications in legislation caused an adverse reaction from the females impacted, particularly those who were born during the 1950s.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) received complaints from many women stating that they were not given proper notification regarding the changes made in 1995. Some of them only got letters about the changes after 14 years had passed since the legislation was approved.

Some people stated that they only got a message a year before they planned to retire at the age of 60. Meanwhile, a larger number of individuals said that they did not receive any form of correspondence from the department whatsoever.

In 2011, the law changed once again, and just like before, the government did not provide any significant notice. This caused women to have to redo their retirement plans all over again.

In 2015, a bunch of females affected by the condition founded Women Against State Pension Injustice, which is commonly referred to as Waspi, to advocate for their rights.

The team had no objections to the proposal of making retirement age equal for all genders. However, they argued that countless women were facing financial difficulties due to not having sufficient time to prepare for their retirement.

In October of 2018, the Waspi organization successfully obtained a comprehensive investigation into the conduct of the Department for Work and Pensions by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).

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Despite working for five years, their report, which was released in March 2024, was extremely critical.

According to the PHSO, the DWP's insufficient communication with women regarding the alteration to their state pension age could have affected numerous individuals, and they have determined that compensation is required to rectify the situation.

According to the report, the recommended amount of compensation per individual - taking into account the example cases provided - should range from £1,000 to £2,950.

The top executive of the ombudsman, Rebecca Hilsenrath, has expressed her concern that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will not follow the ombudsman's suggestions and recommendations, which are not required by law. In response, the ombudsman has taken proactive steps to request that parliament become involved and hold the DWP responsible for its actions.

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The DWP and Number 10 have declared that they will examine the ombudsman's report and reply to their suggestions at an appropriate time in the future.

The Liberal Democrats are asking the government to ensure that these brave women who have relentlessly fought for justice and have suffered financial losses receive compensation.