The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group said the UK Government agreed a “speedy and thorough” reconsideration of whether to award them compensation, and that a planned hearing will now not take place on Wednesday.
A special hearing had been due to take place regarding concerns from Waspi campaigners, which would decide whether a judicial review trial slated for December 9 and 10 should proceed.
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The group of women, who were affected by the way changes to the state pension age were communicated, said a UK Government agreement means these court dates have been cancelled.
Women born in the 1950s saw their state pension age raised so it would be equal with men.
Ministers have committed to make “best endeavours” to reconsider potential compensation within 12 weeks, or by February 24, and to pay more than half of Waspi’s legal costs, the group said.
Ministers said last month that the Government will reconsider the decision to not award compensation to the affected women.
Last year, a report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) suggested compensation ranging between £1000 and £2950 could be appropriate for each of those affected.
Waspi campaigners in Westminster (Image: Stefan Rousseau)
But in December 2024, the Government said that, while it accepted the ombudsman’s finding of maladministration and apologised for a delay in writing to 1950s-born women, a blanket compensation scheme, which could cost taxpayers up to £10.5 billion, could not be justified.
Then-pension secretary Liz Kendall told the House of Commons at the time that the proposed payment scheme was not “fair or value for taxpayers’ money”.
However, recent court proceedings led to the rediscovery of a 2007 Department for Work and Pensions evaluation which led to officials stopping sending automatic pension forecast letters.
The group has argued that a lack of sufficient information led to women planning their finances based on incorrect understandings, which has left them having to work longer or facing financial hardship.
They said the judicial review will not take place while the Government reconsiders its compensation decision, but it could relaunch the process at a later date.
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Angela Madden, chairwoman of Waspi, said: “Yet again, Waspi has held its nerve and yet again, virtually at the steps of the court, the Government has backed down, this time accepting last year’s decision denying the huge injustice suffered by Waspi women simply does not withstand scrutiny.
“Today’s agreement on speedy and thorough reconsideration is welcome.
“But the Government should be in no doubt that Waspi stands ready to return to court if it yet again fails to do the right thing.”
We told how earlier this year SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn‘s Waspi compensation bill was blocked from being given a second reading.
And, the UK Government was accused of “waiting for the Waspi generation to die” to avoid paying out compensation.
The campaign’s website sets out that 397,163 Waspi women have died since 2015.