New research from the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign highlights the deep, ongoing impact of the State Pension age changes on women born in the 1950s. WASPI’s findings suggest that a lack of notice and communication around the State Pension age changes affected retirement plans for millions of women.
WASPI campaigners said that thousands of women were forced to change their plans at the last minute and unable to rely on limited savings. In a survey of nearly 8,000 women, 61 per cent reported a range of lost employment opportunities, saying they had retired or reduced their working hours, expecting to retire at 60. Many had taken up caring commitments for family members or grandchildren in anticipation of retirement.
The research also indicated that 32 percent of affected women were unable to secure alternative employment after attempting to rejoin the workforce, plunging tens of thousands of women into poverty.
WASPI explained that the impact of State Pension age changes still affects this cohort today, with one-in-four women born in the 1950s reporting they have struggled to buy food and basic essentials in the last six months.
It also found that one-in-three older women have experienced debt in the last six months, with thousands of pensioners citing not knowing about increases to their State Pension age as a direct cause of their financial hardship.
WASPI estimates that more than 3.6 million women across Great Britain have missed out on State Pension payments due to a change in retirement age. Between April 2010 and November 2018, it rose from 60 to 65 for women, and in October 2020 it increased to 66 for both men and women.
The latest findings come after the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) was forced to row back on its Stage 2 report into the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) mistakes, after WASPI successfully argued it had not properly considered the full impact on affected women.
In July 2021, the PHSO’s stage 1 investigation ruled that the DWP failed to communicate the age changes to those women with enough urgency, finding it guilty of ‘maladministration’.
The latest research comes just weeks after over 50 cross-party MPs wrote to the PHSO demanding a fair, prompt investigation into the impact of DWP’s errors on the women concerned.
MPs have rallied behind WASPI’s latest calls for fair and fast compensation from the UK Government, sharing how tens of thousands of women have had their lives “turned upside down” by the DWP’s failings.
Senior politicians echoing WASPI’s calls for fast and fair compensation include Wendy Chamberlain MP.
The Lib Dem Spokesperson for Work and Pensions, said: “These findings lay bare the impact of thousands of women losing out on a vast range of professional, personal and social opportunities because of DWP’s failures.
"The speedy completion of the Ombudsman’s report is vital, alongside a prompt response from the Government on how they will recognise and recompense the injustices that have been caused."
Ms Chamberlain added: “WASPI women have had their lives turned upside down, and with one 1950s-born woman dying every 13 minutes, they simply cannot afford to wait any longer for justice.”
Angela Madden, Chair of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign, said: “Thousands of 1950s-born women affected by State Pension age changes have lost major opportunities in their lives, whether it be in the workplace or in the family lives.
“Many of these women had carefully saved for retirement, while working all their lives, only to have the rug pulled from under them with little or no notice, as a result of the DWP’s incompetence.
“As the Parliamentary Ombudsman reviews its investigation into the DWP, it’s vital they take into account the full diversity of women’s experiences and the irreversible lost opportunities they have suffered.”
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