Why wasp women will be ignored in the budget

Wasps women have been warned it is “extremely unlikely” compensation payments for changes to the pension age will be included in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget.

However, pension experts said I it is still possible that the Labor Party will set up a “narrow” fund to help the hardest hit women in spring 2025.

Campaigners Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) are pushing Reeves to announce a compensation scheme for women born in the 1950s affected by increases in the state pension age.

A damning report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) in March found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was guilty of “poor management” for failing to adequately notify women of the changes.

An estimated 3.6 million Waspi women expected to receive their state pension at 60, but had to wait another five or six years due to the raising of the retirement age. Many claim they were unaware of this and made life-changing decisions because they believed they would receive their pension at 60.

The watchdog has recommended compensation and proposed payouts of between £1,000 and £2,950, which could take the bill to £10.5 billion.

But Reeves is not expected to commit to paying Axis compensation in Wednesday’s Budget, having previously said she had not “put aside” any money amid a huge “black hole” in the government’s finances.

Spending Review 2025

Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb said if the government accepted the PHSO findings and allocated some money for Waspi women, it would likely happen during the spring spending review, which sets spending limits for various departments.

“It’s unlikely there will be anything in the budget – they’ll need more time,” said a former Liberal Democrat minister who is now a partner at financial advisers LCP.

“This is more likely in a spending review in the spring because you will be looking at long-term spending for departments.

“I’m guessing they’re trying to come up with something where they can say, ‘We haven’t completely ignored the ombudsman’ while spending as little as possible.

Helen Morrissey, head of pension analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “I would be very surprised to see anything about compensation in the budget.”

“The government is unlikely to do anything on the scale proposed (in the ombudsman’s report). You can get staggering sums.”

Fund to help those in need

Some Axis women told I that they quit their jobs before learning about the change in the retirement age. Some had to sell their homes or continue to work due to poor health in order to survive into their sixties.

Sir Steve believes a means-tested scheme based on “narrow criteria” is a serious option. Relatively few women will meet the criteria, which could help avoid huge bills of more than £10 billion.

“Government lawyers will want something… that will keep them out of the next 10 compensation campaigns.

“What they could do is create a coping framework for people who can demonstrate not only that they didn’t know (the retirement age was going up) but that they made important decisions that had a significant impact on them and caused them difficulties . »

Tim Middleton, director of policy at the Pensions Management Institute (PMI), said a benefit scheme “could be possible”.

“But it has to be legally justified, so paying money to the Axis women is not an admission of guilt.”

Waspi campaigners say the hardship scheme isn’t good enough.

“Reparations is about making right wrongs and injustices,” said Angela Madden, chair of the Waspi Campaign. “The idea of ​​paying benefits to avoid this (admitting wrongdoing) seems crazy.”

New review and giving MPs the right to decide

Another option would be for Labor to make a bold decision to reject the PHSO’s findings entirely, which would mean no compensation for Axis women.

John Ralph, an independent pension consultant, believes this is the most likely scenario. “The likelihood of Waspi compensation being announced in the Budget or at any other time is very, very close to zero.”

Alternatively, the government could announce another review into the matter and allow independent experts to decide whether compensation is deserved and what kind of scheme should be set up.

Mr Middleton said this could give Labor several years until the government’s finances are in better shape. “If they’re going to compensate, they have to have the money to do it,” he said.

Ms. Madden reacted strongly to the idea. “Now is the time to act,” she said, adding: “Another delay will certainly not restore confidence in the policy.”

Labor could also consider allowing parliament to decide on compensation – perhaps even giving MPs a free vote.

Sir Steve believes this route is unlikely. “You don’t want to hand this over to MPs, you’ll lose control of the process. You want to control something that has financial implications.”

Ms. Madden is confident that such a vote can win the compensation case. “We have enough support. MPs know the sense of power that exists in their own constituencies.”

Although she admitted it was “unlikely” Axis women would see a compensation scheme in the Budget, campaigners are still holding a protest in Westminster on October 30 to ensure the issue is not forgotten.

“We will convince the government that we are not leaving,” she added.

A DWP spokesman said the department was still “seriously considering” the ombudsman’s report. “We will continue to respectfully listen to the views of the women involved and take into account any lessons learned.”