Liz Kendall has confirmed there will be no compensation for 1950s-born WASPI women, despite recommendations from the ombudsman.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall argued that paying the affected women between £1,000 and £2,950 each would not constitute “good value for taxpayer money”, saying that in the great majority of cases, “sending a letter earlier would have affected whether women knew their state pension age was rising”.
From 1948 until 2010, the state pension age was 60 for women and 65 for men – but a law change in 1995 ruled the women’s pension age would increase to 65 between 2010 and 2020.
Some Waspi women were forced to work beyond their planned retirement date, while others claim that they would have been paid tens of thousands of pounds more in state pension.
The Government’s decision comes despite Kendall’s personal support for the Waspi campaign in the past.
In 2019, Kendall, then a backbench Labour MP, was pictured holding a sign which stated: “I will work with Waspi to identify and deliver a fair solution for all women involved.” Her personal website describes her as “a longstanding supporter of the Waspi campaign”.
She wrote on X (formerly Twitter) at the time: “As a result of changes made in 2011, women across the UK are now suffering financial hardship – with 3,300 women affected in Leicester West alone! This injustice can’t go on.”
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