Time's Ticking: 300,000 Women Denied Pension Justice in Heartbreaking Delay
Campaigners have disclosed today that more than 300,000 women born in the 1950s have died while waiting for compensation related to changes in the state pension age.
Alarming Statistics Highlight the Urgency
Data obtained from the Office for National Statistics, commissioned by Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), indicates that one affected woman dies every 13 minutes. These figures have surfaced as millions of women continue to await compensation proposals from government officials after a prolonged nine-year struggle for justice.
Campaigners Demand Immediate Action
Waspi campaigners are advocating for compensation due to the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) failure to adequately inform millions of women about the increases in the state pension age. In a significant development this March, the Parliamentary Ombudsman determined that the DWP mishandled the changes.
The Ombudsman has instructed ministers to promptly compensate the affected women. However, the government has yet to present specific compensation proposals, causing frustration among those impacted.
Government's Response Under Scrutiny
This delay persists despite the Ombudsman's directive for immediate payments. The issue primarily affects women born in the 1950s, whose retirement plans were drastically altered by the pension age changes. Many Labour MPs and trade unions, including UNISON, have expressed their support for the campaign demanding urgent compensation.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall informed MPs this week that she is working as quickly as humanly possible to address the Ombudsman's report. However, she refrained from providing a timeline for when financial redress proposals would be submitted to Parliament.
Criticism Over Budget Exclusion
The absence of Waspi compensation in the recent Budget has drawn criticism from numerous MPs, especially since redress proposals were confirmed for victims of the Post Office and infected blood scandals. Waspi chair Angela Madden emphasised the tragic consequences of the delays.
It is both distressing and tragic that after nine long years of campaigning, 300,000 Waspi women have died without seeing the justice they are due, she stated. She cautioned ministers that time is running out to fairly compensate those who remain.
Calls for Fair Resolution
Campaigners are urging policymakers to take more decisive action for women born in the 1950s. UNISON's Head of Equality, Josie Irwin, described the situation as a pensions shambles that has left retirement plans in disarray.
It's a tragedy so many women have died without receiving the payments they were due, she remarked. Many of them were low-paid cleaners, teaching assistants, school administrators, cooks, catering staff, nurses, and receptionists. She implored ministers to find a way to resolve this desperately unfair situation.
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