Waspi women issue warning as 'concerning' state pension scam targets retirees
The Waspi campaign has issued a scam warning
GETTY / PA
The Woman Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign has issued a scam warning to thousands across the country amid reports of fake compensation claim forms.
Campaigners are urging women to be cautious of a "deeply concerning" spike in fraudulent forms appearing to women online which could see pensioners lose thousands of pounds.
In recent days, multiple unofficial websites have appeared which women impacted by historic changes to the state pension age can get up to £2,950 in compensation, depending on their situation.
According to the Waspi campaign, these websites appear to originate from outside the UK can suggest women born in the 1950s can get payouts by filling out online compensation claims.
In 2021, the Parliament and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) guilty of "maladministration" over its handling of the state pension age equalisation between men and women.
Earlier this year, the ombudsman proposed women impacted by the change could be entitled to a Level 4 payout from the Government, which comes to between £1,000 and £2,950.
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Campaigners are calling on policymakers to do more for women born in the 1950s WASPI However, the PHSO said it was the responsibility of MPs to vote on and set a compensation amount in Parliament which has yet to be carried out.
Both Labour and the Conservative Party have come under fire from Waspi women for failure to put forward a compensation proposal in their respective manifestos.
Due to compensation being in place, campaigners are calling on the 3.8 million affected by historic changes to be alert to any potential scams.
Waspi Chair Angela Madden shared that it was “deeply concerning” that a number of websites were convincing those affected by the changes to share their personal details with unknown entities.
She cited that any confirmation of a compensation scheme for Waspi women would come directly from the UK Government.
Despite it being three months from the PHSO's last report, no decision yet taken by ministers, no such scheme currently exists.
More than 3.6 million women born in the 1950s are believed to have been affected after the DWP failed to properly communicate increases to their pension age.
According to campaigners, the worst impacted only got 18 months’ notice of a six-year increase to their state pension age which plunged tens of thousands into poverty.
Madden said: “It is deeply concerning that a number of webpages have appeared in recent days, encouraging those impacted by state pension age changes to provide their personal details through fake claim forms.
“The need for compensation is so urgent that it is the most vulnerable women who are most at risk and the Government’s continued dithering is now opening up a space for scammers to target them.
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The PHSO determined Waspi women are eligible for pay outs due to historic state pension age changes
GETTY“Any official announcement on compensation will be made by the UK Government. Anybody who has given their personal data to a potentially fraudulent website should contact Action Fraud.”
A DWP spokesperson told GB News: “We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course, having cooperated fully throughout this investigation.
“The Government has always been committed to supporting all pensioners in a sustainable way that gives them a dignified retirement whilst also being fair to them and taxpayers.
“The state pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so as we delivered a further 8.5 per cent rise this month, increasing the state pension for 12 million pensioners. This has seen the full rate of the new state pension rise by £900."