Waspi

Poppyred

Momac55

Hi I was born in 1955 so I am in the Waspi cohort. I paid the married women’s stamp for most of my working life does that mean I am not entitled to any compensation, I still had to wait until 66 to get my pittance of a pension

If you were born in 1955 you are 68 and already receiving your state pension??

I'm not sure I understand your point. Yes, someone born in 55 will be getting their pension, but so will most women in the cohort. That doesn't mean that Momac won't get compensation though - if any of us do that is.

The ombudsman's decision to recommend compensation isn't based on the amount women have lost in pension payments. It's compensation for poor communication/maladministration in 2004.

A poll was conducted, which discovered that the majority of women affected by the original equalisation of pension age with men, but a significant minority did not know. It was decided to target this group, but there were delays in sending out letters and contact details weren't always correct.

The ombudsman decreed that the delay was unacceptable, which was the basis for the compensation. It has been decided that this is a level 4 maladministration, compensation for which is between £1,000 and £2,950. Any claims in the media that Waspi women will actually receive something between those two amounts are wrong. There is no compensation arrangement in place.

Yes, but none of that will mean that someone born in 1955 would be excluded from a payout if one is forthcoming, would it? Anyone who had their SPA raised would be eligible, as I understand it.

It means waiting longer and still working, or not as the case may be to 66 but the pension received monthly then by people is much more than for those who were eligible to retire and receive it at age 60.I think!

I don't know why you're assuming anything. The compensation mentioned by the ombudsman's report isn't to compensate for loss of pension. It's a fine for maladministration in 2004, when the DWP was slow to inform those women who didn't know about the increase, despite a survey which showed about 20% of them didn't know.

I was born in 1955 and was one of the first to have my SPA age increased to 66, so I've "lost" more than most. Does that mean I should receive more? On the other hand, I did know about the increase, so does that mean I should receive nothing? Following the ombudsman's ruling, it would be the latter because I don't merit compensation for not knowing.

My understanding is that if we get anything it will be a blanket amount. The waters were, I think, muddied, as many reports quoted the scale on which awards are made, with £0 at the bottom and £10k at the top, and people have assumed that any payments would be based on the impact of the changes on individuals, with some getting nothing and others getting £10,000.

Not only would that be unfair, but it would be insanely expensive to administer, and all but impossible to judge. Would we all have to write essays explaining what we knew, how we found out, what our financial circumstances were then and are now, and compete for sympathy?

If we get anything at all, which is not a given, it will be the same for everyone, and is, apparently, most likely to be somewhere between £1k and £3k.