Today In Parliament: I'm sure they mentioned WASPI but.....

Yeah, it’s the classic “throw a bone” move—acknowledge it just enough to say they did, but without any real substance. Typical.

As many Waspi women are among the so-called "next poorest" - those just above the qualifying point for additional pension help - the present government seem determined to keep paying lip service, while the death rate reduces their eventual payout.

Just like the last lot.

Withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance has brought foward the Waspi issue, so some ministers and MPs are having to justify staying silent where, previously, they were sympathetic.

The Waspi campaign is doing a good job of keeping awareness going, but it became sadly obvious on Budget Day that the noisy, peaceful protest outside Parliament was low-or-no priority among press and politicians.

Over several years, the Tories saved £48,000 a head from half the retiring population, some of whom received no, or very little, warning.

George Osborne said it was the easiest savings he'd ever made.

I know this has been covered extensively here, and that there are always responses from people who felt the warning was adequate (and those who did not need the WFA).

A court has already judged that WASPI women should be compensated and, in future, I expect there will be severe consequences of a failure to do a proper impact assessment on WFA withdrawal.

The heartlessness of waiting for more of us to die off has been difficult to absorb and understand, especially since the election.

How old are waspi women? I'm 71 and thought I was at the older end so many must be 60s and very early 70s. I'm a bit alarmed that we are all dying off so fast. I thought I'd got another 15 plus years to go.

I must go and check dates.

So the oldest are 74 and youngest are 64. The way people talk it's like we are more like late 70s and 80s. Also the older ones only had to wait a fairly short time as it didn't just change overnight but was staggered. The second change was the bigger issue in my view.

It's estimated that 3 million women were affected, of whom just under 300,000 have died since the Waspi campaign began and the official figures from Waspi say affected women are dying off at a rate of one every 13 minutes. The campaign also publishes the amount of money saved by government(s).

My local Tory MP's office told me years ago they couldn't deal with anything about Waspi unless it all came direct from a local constituent so I went off and boned up over a long period of time.

When I finally felt able to talk knowledgeably to the MP, he'd become a junior minister ... and his office said, as such, he now couldn't take sides on the Waspi issue!

I never did get to talk to him, or them, about it.

Considering how other groups have been treated WASPI women have little chance of compensation.

All governments drag their feet in these matters. The contaminated blood scandals, the post office, and many more. I've been rewatching programmes about Aberfan and the appalling way the donated money was used to remove the slag heaps. That was a Labour government looking after ordinary working people.

I know there are MPs who recognise the injustice but other than the WASPIs themselves very few people care or think compensation is justified. Even on GN some show little sympathy.

theworriedwell

So the oldest are 74 and youngest are 64. The way people talk it's like we are more like late 70s and 80s. Also the older ones only had to wait a fairly short time as it didn't just change overnight but was staggered. The second change was the bigger issue in my view.

The second change was, indeed, a big issue, because older friends and relatives had been retiring at a graduated rate and, by then, it was possible for everyone to work out roughly when it would happen to them. The acceleration was particularly hard and pretty wicked as - by then - it was obvious many people had been caught out.

One piece of official advice was that women should seek apprenticeships at the age of 60. I remember a story about a woman in Aberdeen who contacted every city centre firm to enquire. You can imagine the response she got.

Yes the second change was very different to the first.

So in 14 years about 10 per cent have died?

I wonder how much the oldest waspi women are expecting? You know the ones who got their pension a few weeks or months late. Hope they aren't expecting thousands.

theworriedwell

So in 14 years about 10 per cent have died?

Not entirely sure, but the figures are often quoted as being since the Waspi campaign began, not since the start of the pension age increase.

theworriedwell

I wonder how much the oldest waspi women are expecting? You know the ones who got their pension a few weeks or months late. Hope they aren't expecting thousands.

Expectations have consistently been set at the lower end of between £1,000 and £3,000 and most of the Waspi women I know, who are struggling, are in the full blown six-year raise--plus-acceleration category. They should be getting much more than that, of course.

Sadly, I'm not thinking the payments will ever amount to much as all governments seem to be sticking to the "longer we leave it, fewer there'll be" system which has served them so well for the Post Office and blood scandal victims.

Yes those that missed out on six years pension should really get more. I'm one of those and so is my sister but we both know it is very unlikely. I will be fine but she is single and in a rental property. There is a real chance her rent could rise to a level she can't afford. Not a nice thought that an older woman who has worked since she was 16 could end up on the street. Lots like her have very small private pensions.

She won't of course because family will make sure that doesn't happen.

Well we are a generation that fought for equality so we can't decide to reject the bits we don't like. How about the men should they be getting compensation? How could it be fair otherwise and how far back should we go.

I can't see how the later waspi women didn't get notice as it had been in the headlines for years. Personally I'd be embarrassed to say I hadn't kept an eye on my pensions and when they'd be payable.

theworriedwell

I wonder how much the oldest waspi women are expecting? You know the ones who got their pension a few weeks or months late. Hope they aren't expecting thousands.

I was one of the first to receive my pension at the age of 66. I was born in 1955 and am now 69. Anybody older than me received their pension at a slightly younger age.

My understanding is that the court cases ruled out compensation related to the 'lost' amount (so forget about thousands), but report by the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman suggested Level 4 payments of between £1,000 and £2,950 to women affected, in recognition of the poor communication.

Mamardoit

Yes those that missed out on six years pension should really get more. I'm one of those and so is my sister but we both know it is very unlikely. I will be fine but she is single and in a rental property. There is a real chance her rent could rise to a level she can't afford. Not a nice thought that an older woman who has worked since she was 16 could end up on the street. Lots like her have very small private pensions.

She won't of course because family will make sure that doesn't happen.

Has she applied for Housing Benefit?

theworriedwell

So the oldest are 74 and youngest are 64. The way people talk it's like we are more like late 70s and 80s. Also the older ones only had to wait a fairly short time as it didn't just change overnight but was staggered. The second change was the bigger issue in my view.

I agree with you. I knew from the mid 1990s that my pension age would be 65 - the same as men. I remember when the second change was announced and my heart sank. By then, I was already starting the countdown to retirement and I felt really down about having to struggle on for yet another year.

@growstuff do you know if they are suggesting the same compensation for all women. So women who got their pension at 60 years one month getting the same as women who got it at 66 years. I can see that causing some upset if they do it like that.

Of course they won't. Look at what's happened in the past. People experiencing more injustice have waited decades.

theworriedwell

@growstuff do you know if they are suggesting the same compensation for all women. So women who got their pension at 60 years one month getting the same as women who got it at 66 years. I can see that causing some upset if they do it like that.

No, I don't have any details at all. I don't think anybody has. As far as I know, the ombudsman's conclusion was just a suggestion. There isn't even (AFAIK) any commitment to pay anything.

TBH, I don't even think about it. If a few hundred pounds turns up in my bank account one day, I'll be overjoyed, but I'm not expecting it and it certainly doesn't appear in my household budget calculations.

Mamardoit

Of course they won't. Look at what's happened in the past. People experiencing more injustice have waited decades.

The courts have ruled that WASPI women didn't suffer injustice but poor communication, which isn't the same at all.

growstuff

Mamardoit

Yes those that missed out on six years pension should really get more. I'm one of those and so is my sister but we both know it is very unlikely. I will be fine but she is single and in a rental property. There is a real chance her rent could rise to a level she can't afford. Not a nice thought that an older woman who has worked since she was 16 could end up on the street. Lots like her have very small private pensions.

She won't of course because family will make sure that doesn't happen.

Has she applied for Housing Benefit?

She my well have to. She's still working full time. Retires next year.

No I don't think about it. I think I got my pension at 64 years 9 months. The second change added 18 months if I remember correctly. With a disabled husband who hadn't worked for nearly 30 years and youngest still at university I was never going to retire at that point anyway. Finally made the break just before 70th birthday but still get asked to go in occasionally.

growstuff

Mamardoit

Of course they won't. Look at what's happened in the past. People experiencing more injustice have waited decades.

The courts have ruled that WASPI women didn't suffer injustice but poor communication, which isn't the same at all.

This is true, so it’s about how long we had to make provision for retirement, meaning the age 66 retirers had longer to make plans than the 60+ months ones. I think the Ombudsman did recommend compensation for the lack of advance warning rather than lost pension payments.
I’m not holding my breath.