The government will reconsider its stance on Waspi payouts for women affected by the pension scandal. They previously reached the decision to reject compensation for women affected by changes to the state pension age.
A report by the UK Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman released in March 2024 called on the government to compensate the 3.6 million British women born in the 1950s, who were not properly informed of the rise in state pension age.
(Image credit: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
We spoke exclusively to three women affected by changes made to the state pension age and subsequent fallout.
Angela, 71, worked in senior management before retiring in 2008. Believing she’d be eligible for her pension on turning 60, six years later, she worked out her finances based on that timeline.
“In 2012, two years before my pension was due, I got a letter saying that I wouldn’t get it until 2020,” Angela tells us. She adds, “I was floored. Having always worked full-time, I’d never been in a benefits office.
“Apparently, that’s where leaflets announcing the change could be found, but I never saw them. I couldn’t believe this could happen without me knowing.”
Retired art educator Michele Carlile, 71, had an equally awful experience. “My retirement has been horrendous,” she says, adding, “I nearly lost my home and had no choice but to work while medically unfit. The stress has taken a terrible toll.”
Michele continues, “For me, the situation feels especially bad as my family has a history of serious heart disease, and doesn’t fit the longevity model used by the government.”
Having been diagnosed with severe angina at the age of 59 and forced to stop work, she says, “since then, I’ve had two heart attacks, one of which nearly killed me last summer”.
Michele concludes, “To me, this is a part of a bigger picture of historic gender bias. Women my age suffered massive pay inequality throughout our working lives and were not encouraged to pay into private pensions like younger generations.”
