WASPI Women to Receive £3,150—Find Out If You Qualify. Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) is a campaign started by women to fight this injustice against the government of the United Kingdom. The government made a huge decision to change the eligibility age for state pensions. The awareness was not proper for women and they faced great difficulty due to this. If you’d like to know more about the topic ‘WASPI Women to Receive £3,150—Find Out If You Qualify’, please keep reading the article.
WASPI Women to Receive £3,150
Women in the UK started the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign to fight the injustice. The sudden changes made by the UK government in the state pension age affected the lives of many women in a negative way. Before this change, women were able to claim their state pension at 60, which was five years earlier than men. However, starting in 1995, the government declared that the state pension age for women would be slowly increased to match that of men, ultimately reaching parity by 2020.
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The claim was made that many women did not have adequate knowledge about the change in the retirement age because the government had not given them proper notice about the changes and left them economically unprepared. Several women were required to work longer than planned or faced financial challenges due to the sudden shift in policy.
Many women experienced:
- Unanticipated delays in receiving their pensions.
- Financial struggles due to prolonged working years.
- Psychological stress from a sudden shift in retirement plans.
Eligibility Criteria
To be able to receive this compensation, you must meet the eligibility criteria as follows:
- You must be a woman who was born between April 6, 1950, and April 5, 1960.
- You must be financially affected due to the delay in retirement age.
- You have valid proof of your monetary hardship caused by the sudden shift in state pension age.
- You have the records of communication from the DWP related to pension changes.
State Pension Age Changes
The modern state pension was introduced in 1948. The men and women have to make sufficient contributions to National Insurance (NI) to start receiving this pension. Men could get this pension at 65 and women can get it at 60. In 1995, the government of the UK made a huge change in the State Pension age by launching a timetable. In this timetable, the age for receiving pensions for men and women will gradually become the same.
But in 2010, the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government decided to speed up the changes to reduce the overall cost of the state pension. The Pension Act 2011 brought forward the eligibility age of 65 for women to 2018.
In 2020, the state pension age for both men and women was increased to 66. Under current plans, the state pension age will raise again to 67 between 2026 and 2028 and to 68 between 2044 and 2046.
Ombudsman’s Findings
The Parliamentary and Health Service (PHSO) concluded that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) committed maladministration in informing the affected women. According to the report, the government did not properly inform the women about the age changes in state pension. These women were not even provided a proper warning that must have been given at least 28 months ago about the changes in the pension age from 60 to 65 and later to 66.
This results in the suggestion of the Ombudsman that every woman must be given an amount between £1,000 and a maximum of £3150, according to the level of effect they experienced. The women who faced moderate impact may get around £1,000 and those who faced major impact may get up to £3,150.
Reaction by the Government
Even after the Ombudsman’s advice, the government has not yet confirmed whether they will pay the agreed compensation. In December 2024, the Work and Pensions Secretary stated that there was no legal obligation to compensate and that establishing a payout scheme could cost taxpayers over £10.5 billion.
More than a hundred MPs from multiple political parties have voiced support for compensation. Several women are in hope that the government will see their difficult condition and will provide them compensation. Although the women are not happy with the £3000 compensation, they want to get a compensation of £10,000 to cover their loss.
But the government’s argument is that most women knew about the increase in the age in state pension. It would be an injustice if a flat rate were given to all women and it would cost them a total of £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion.