With just one month remaining, Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigners awaiting compensation have sounded the alarm.
The WASPI campaign supports women born in the 1950s who claim their retirement plans were disrupted due to inadequate notification from the Government about their State Pension age increasing by over five years. These women, adversely impacted by the hike in pension age, stress that they are not opposed to equalisation but criticise the way the changes were implemented with little or no warning.
In March, an Ombudsman’s report recommended that WASPI women should receive compensation ranging from £1,000 to £2,950 each, urging Parliament to “act swiftly” to ensure the affected women get their payouts, LeicestershireLive reports.
With the Tories heading for defeat in the July general election, many WASPI women are hopeful that a Labour victory could lead to the long-awaited compensation.
In May, then-opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer blasted the Tories, saying: “The Ombudsman’s report came out I don’t know how many months ago now and the Government should have responded and they haven’t done so … it is shocking that the Government hasn’t dealt with it.” But his Labour Government also has yet to pay out any compensation.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver Labour’s first Budget on Wednesday October 30, and at the beginning of September, she told the BBC it would involve “difficult decisions” on tax, spending and benefits, with it looking unlikely that WASPI compensation will be a priority.
WASPI campaigners call on others to join them in a demonstration in Parliament Square on October 30. A post on WASPI social media feeds reads: “WASPI women have traditionally gathered outside Parliament on such days, but this year we are asking all our supporters to go one step further.
“This is your opportunity to make your voice heard, as thousands of WASPI women renew their calls for fair and fast compensation on Budget Day.”