WASPI Compensation

Who was advising women about the married woman's stamp? I think it's pretty obvious that if you opt to pay less you get less.

As dayvidg pointed out, Mr Starmer said today in Parliament I'm afraid to say that taxpayers simply can't afford the tens of billions of pounds in compensation.

Tens of billions? The ombudsman recommended compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 for the ca 3.6 million women affected. If every single one received the top figure (highly unlikely, surely) the compensation would by my reckoning cost 10.6 billion. Take it down to £1000 per head and we’re talking 3.6 billion. Even that is assuming that payment would be made to the estates of the 300,000 ‘50s women who’ve died since the campaign began.

Substantial figures, yes, but not tens of billions. Irrespective of whether the country can afford to follow the Ombudsman’s recommendations, I find it concerning that our PM sees fit to exaggerate the figures to support his position.

If his decision had been that the country can’t afford the payout at the moment but the government would still strive lto abide by the Ombudsman recommendations during their term of office, I think that would have been understandable. Other groups have had to wait a lot longer for their compensation payments.

And so according to The Guardian, Keir Starmer has refused the house a vote on this decision.
I wonder why?

@Seajaye
You can’t claim NI credits for caring responsibility for elderly relatives unless you are registered as their carer and receive carers allowance which involves the relative being eligible, able and willing to apply. Some older people still can’t get their heads around women needing income of their own, others just don’t want SS involved.
You can claim NI credits for childcare if the child’s parents are working and paying NI contributions and are willing to transfer their credits to you (the credit is normally given to a non working parent).

I understand that it's a factor, but foreknowledge doesn't make it any better. If a thief lets you know in advance, it doesn't make theft ok. I started work after I left school and paid my contributions on the understanding that I would get my pension at 60. I kept my side of the 'contract' but government reneged on their side. In any other field of life, the law wouldn't allow you to move the goalposts. To tell the younger generation that the pension ages will be equalised is fair, but to tell older people on the cusp of retirement that they have to work another six years is cruel.

@Ramblingrose22. I did double check. The letter I received, incorrectly stating I would get state pension at the age of 60 was the reply I got when checking the exact date. I retired on the strength of that.
Yes, I should have received letters earlier. Some women did. Many didn’t. The ombudsman did a detailed enquiry and found that there had been maladministration.

The increase in employers NIC will swell the coffers even more.
That will be a temporary increase because employers will be forced to let staff go, businesses may fold because of these higher contributions. It's self-defeating.
Short-term gain which will bring long-term pain.

Milest0ne

When I first married I was advised to pay a "Married Woman " stamp that would remove the right to sick pay. Nothing was said about pensions. I paid a self-employed stamp for 30 years. I now get £492 p/m pension plus £90 private pension. We rely on my OH's civil service pension + Old Age pension. Luckily we get attendance allowance which helps to make up the difference

Many WASPI women were not told about the changes.

Many older women who opted to pay the Married Women's Stamp were in fact lied to. We were told that we would still be paying a stamp and our pensions would be safe; the only difference opting for this stamp would make was that we would not receive Maternity Allowance.

As I said on page 3, there is a 86 billion pound contingency sitting in the National Insurance Fund, some 60 billion more than needs to be there. The NIF is ring-fenced to pay for contributory benefits. The increase in employers NIC will swell the coffers even more.

The money is there to pay for universal WFP and to compensate women affected by the DWP maladministation even if it needs secondary legislation to use the funds in that way.

At least it's looking like some Labour MPs may now find the backbone they failed to find during the WFP vote and rebel if one of the other parties can force a vote on compensation.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/18/up-to-100-labour-mps-could-vote-against-waspi-payout-refusal

The country is in dire straits. The previous government could and should have settled the disputes with the doctors, train drivers etc. It didn’t because the writing was on the wall, Labour were likely to be the next government and they’d have to find the money to settle damaging disputes as well as the compensation to blood/post office victims.
Plus, rebuild our public services, none of which are functioning after years of neglect.
Women knew the retirement age would be made fairer. Like many other women, I was determined to earn, to build a pension pot. When I was 18 in 1966, the older women I worked with advised me to pay full stamp because of the risks of relying on marriage to give security. I sympathise with waspi women but as with WFA the government has to make tough decisions. Starmer was criticised for stressing how tough it would be. He was right, it is tough and it’s going to be very difficult to begin to out things on a better footing.
I do not believe he hates women or pensioners. I believe he’s being expected to do magical things before breakfast

When I first married I was advised to pay a "Married Woman " stamp that would remove the right to sick pay. Nothing was said about pensions. I paid a self-employed stamp for 30 years. I now get £492 p/m pension plus £90 private pension. We rely on my OH's civil service pension + Old Age pension. Luckily we get attendance allowance which helps to make up the difference

"It’s a shame that there are people in this world who have no idea about current affairs, never read the news etc."

I think it's a shame that some people always criticise others without knowing their circumstances. I should not have to justify why I do not buy or read newspapers or watch tv or listen to the radio. Why has Gransnet become as bad as other forms of social media? This is precisely why I rarely post and will almost certainly unsubscribe soon.

Allira

Casdon

Primrose53

Casdon

It’s always been a battle in vain, no government ever committed to fund compensation, and Labour didn’t suggest that they would do so before they were elected.
I’m glad the long-standing payouts due to people affected by the Blood and Post Office scandals are finally happening though.

Yes they did! Angela Rayner said “We WILL compensate”. Starmer said it was an injustice and compensation would be paid.

Before the election campaign.

Before the election campaign.

Doesn't matter if it was before or during. She said it and WASPI women will have remembered that.

I'm not one but understand the anger of those women who were given no notice of the changes.

I’m sorry Allira, but it matters very much when it was said, as it always matters when politicians make promises. Unless they make them in the election campaign, it counts for nothing in reality. I’m not saying I agree with that stance, I don’t, but it’s always the case.

Casdon

Primrose53

Casdon

It’s always been a battle in vain, no government ever committed to fund compensation, and Labour didn’t suggest that they would do so before they were elected.
I’m glad the long-standing payouts due to people affected by the Blood and Post Office scandals are finally happening though.

Yes they did! Angela Rayner said “We WILL compensate”. Starmer said it was an injustice and compensation would be paid.

Before the election campaign.

Before the election campaign.

Doesn't matter if it was before or during. She said it and WASPI women will have remembered that.

I'm not one but understand the anger of those women who were given no notice of the changes.

I agree too Doodledog. What is he supposed to do, damned if he does or not. For what irs worth I read ages ago that the universal winter fuel payment was going to have to go. I miss them terribly and am doing without a lot of things.
People do realise that if they turn their back on Labour now they are playing into the hands of Reform? They may not appreciate what that will do for this country.

After reading through all this, I have just searched through my old pension info.

When I had just turned 50, I received a retirement pension forecast, which it said I had requested.

It gives a lot of figures about future pension entitlements etc, but it definitely states that by the time you are 62years 10 months, which is your state pension age, you should have 39 ‘qualifying years’-this would give you a full basic pension

I am now nearly 72, have been receipt of my SP (the old rate) since I was 62years10 months, just as it said.

Just pointing out I received this letter nearly 13 years before my retirement age, so I was aware of timescales.

Granted, I had requested a forecast when I had just turned 50.

Whether I would have had a letter otherwise, I don’t know.

Also, if I had been 3 months younger, I would have had to wait a bit longer to get my pension, but would then have been entitled to the new SP rate.

Oh well……

Willjac123

I'm a Waspi, born 1954. I actually believe that the Labour party ARE sympathetic to Waspis but this country is on its knees after 14 years of the worst government ever- self serving, dishonest, lying, cheating. The country simply cannot afford to pay out millions/billions- it's needed to fill that great big black hole left behind by the Tories. Oh, just a thought- maybe Michelle Mone and all the other fast tracked cronies could help out.

Agreed.

What Starmer did say during the election campaign was that difficult decisions would have to be made to get the country going again after 14 years of corruption and mismanagement. I got sick of hearing it, both during the campaign and prior to the budget. He made no secret of the fact that he was prepared to be unpopular in the best interests of the country, and he's kept his word.

I don't think for a minute that he 'hates women' or 'is gunning for pensioners' or any of the other accusations that are levelled at him. He's doing what he can to get things back to where they were, which is particularly difficult after Brexit, and after the huge sums that went to cronies and were otherwise wasted during Covid.

They can't afford it! But they can afford £22 billion for a carbon capture scheme white elephant and weight loss jabs for fat people.

growstuff

Sorry, ignore that. The figures don't add up and I muddled something up.

I understand- so many years/ dates of letters etc - I know I didn’t get any letters and still at the same address 25yrs later

Are you surprised? Im not....Never expected to get compensation....they're just waiting till we all shuffle off! Post Office scandal the same! Winter Fuel payment and this but train drivers and Doctors get big pay rises! Rachel Reeves😈🤬gets heating paid etc on her 2nd home. Labour are a joke, always have been, more Tory than the Tories.....I hope the people that voted for them are happy!

But they could find the money to fund big pay rises for NHS staff and train drivers.

I'm a Waspi, born 1954. I actually believe that the Labour party ARE sympathetic to Waspis but this country is on its knees after 14 years of the worst government ever- self serving, dishonest, lying, cheating. The country simply cannot afford to pay out millions/billions- it's needed to fill that great big black hole left behind by the Tories. Oh, just a thought- maybe Michelle Mone and all the other fast tracked cronies could help out.

mae13

Why does Starmer hate old people, especially old women so desperately?
A near perfect example of Olympic standard mysoginy.

He doesn’t hate women!

I do think WASPI women deserve more than a pathetic apology, I do think many of us missed out, I think any party member who supported WASPIs whilst in opposition are hypocrites.

In terms of the old and new state pension, in the old state pension you could claim additional payments (I believe) if you paid NI at a higher rate.

What annoys me the most is I start receiving my state pension at the end of this month, hoorah! However I did work until I was 64 and had the pension age not been changed I would still have worked until I was 64, but between 60 and 64 I would not have pad NI, saving me around £280 per month.

I was not surprised, MPs will sell their grandmothers for a shilling, promise the earth to get the power they crave for and then pretend they didn't. Hang on a minute, yep that is exactly what labour has done only this time they stole billions of pounds from everyone's granny. Well done Labour you topped the tories at being the worse party ever, whom noone can trust.