Campaigners have threatened the government with legal action unless it reconsiders the decision to refuse compensation to millions of women affected by an increase in the state pension age.The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group is demanding payouts for 3.6 million women born in the 1950s who were not properly informed of changes first introduced in the 1990s.The government apologised that the changes were not communicated quickly enough but told the BBC it “cannot justify paying for a £10.5bn compensation scheme at the expense of the taxpayer”.Waspi chair Angela Madden said: “We believe this is not only an outrage but legally wrong.” The “letter before action” that has been sent to the government is a formal mechanism to allow it a chance to respond before the campaigners seek a judicial review at the High Court in two weeks time.Last year the parliamentary ombudsman recommended payouts of up to £2,950 each because of a 28-month delay in writing to inform the women affected of the changes.Waspi campaigners have claimed women suffered financial hardship and had to rethink retirement plans.However in December, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologised for the delayed communications but said there was “considerable awareness” of the changes to the pension age. She said sending letters earlier would not have made a difference to their ability to make retirement choices.Her claim there was no direct financial loss could now be examined in court if the campaigners get approval for their judicial review.Ms Madden said: “The government has accepted that 1950s-born women are victims of maladministration, but it …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnCampaigners have threatened the government with legal action unless it reconsiders the decision to refuse compensation to millions of women affected by an increase in the state pension age.The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group is demanding payouts for 3.6 million women born in the 1950s who were not properly informed of changes first introduced in the 1990s.The government apologised that the changes were not communicated quickly enough but told the BBC it “cannot justify paying for a £10.5bn compensation scheme at the expense of the taxpayer”.Waspi chair Angela Madden said: “We believe this is not only an outrage but legally wrong.” The “letter before action” that has been sent to the government is a formal mechanism to allow it a chance to respond before the campaigners seek a judicial review at the High Court in two weeks time.Last year the parliamentary ombudsman recommended payouts of up to £2,950 each because of a 28-month delay in writing to inform the women affected of the changes.Waspi campaigners have claimed women suffered financial hardship and had to rethink retirement plans.However in December, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologised for the delayed communications but said there was “considerable awareness” of the changes to the pension age. She said sending letters earlier would not have made a difference to their ability to make retirement choices.Her claim there was no direct financial loss could now be examined in court if the campaigners get approval for their judicial review.Ms Madden said: “The government has accepted that 1950s-born women are victims of maladministration, but it …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
