Women across Briton should be awarded £10,000 in compensation for historic state pension “injustices”, an MP has said.
Alan Brown, SNP MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, is urging the Government to give this sum or more to those affected by issues raised by the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI).
Following the 1995 State Pension Age Act, the threshold was raised to be in line with men.
Some 3.8 million women born between April 6, 1950 and April 5, 1960 were made financially worse-off due to the way this age hike was introduced, the campaigners have argued.
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The WASPI campaign has lobbied to remedy years-long 'injustices'
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Mr Brown spoke of the “injustices” many women are currently dealing with in retirement through no fault of their own.
He told the House of Commons: “Like so many injustices created by Westminster, the lack of resolution for the 3.8 million women is a disgrace.
“These women were given the bombshell that their state pension age was going to increase from 60 to 66 just as they were about to retire and it was too late to do any proper financial planning.
“For nine years this matter has been debated hearing harrowing stories with many MPs across the chamber pledging they would do all they could to help these women but the government has ignored the plight of these women.
“Unfortunately, 40,000 of these women are dying each year without receiving any compensation and tragically 240,000 have now passed away.”
In his speech to the House, Mr Brown cited that a minimum Level Five banding of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) remedy scales should be applied at the very least.
However, he recommended a Level Six with payments of £10,000 or higher would be considered “most appropriate”.
Three years ago, the PHSO found in an investigation that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did not make a reasonable decision about targeting information to women affected by the changes.
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Mr Brown urged the Government to rectify the financial hardship many women in the country are going through
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In 2006, the DWP proposed informing women in writing about the changes to the state pension age but did not act promptly, which was deemed as “maladministration”.
In March 2023, the ombudsman was set to release its final report but received a “legal challenge” that led to it needing to review its stage two findings.
A DWP spokesperson told GB News: “The Government decided over 25 years ago that it was going to make the state pension age the same for men and women.
"Both the High Court and Court of Appeal have supported the actions of the DWP, under successive governments dating back to 1995, and the Supreme Court refused the claimants permission to appeal."
Angela Madden, the chair of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign, said: "We have been working closely with Alan Brown MP and are grateful for his support in our continued fight for fair and fast compensation.
"The figure of £10,000 is in line with the findings of the cross-party APPG for State Pension Inequality for Women, which concluded that the figures outlined in the Ombudsman's Level 6 compensation scale are both necessary and proportionate.
“More than 260,000 WASPI women have died since the campaign began and this tragic statistic reconfirms the urgent need for justice for all those affected, following the repeated failures by the DWP and successive administrations of all colours.
“The Government has shown it can act to end long-running injustices within a matter of weeks as seen with the Post Office scandal. WASPI women must finally be awarded the same dignity with swift action."
