Liberal Democrat MP James MacCleary pointed out in the PHSO\u2019s final report<\/a>, published in March 2024, the Ombudsman had recommended compensation for millions of women and said its findings are followed in the vast majority of cases.<\/p>\n He asked Pensions Minister Torsten Bell: \u201cDoes the Minister accept that singling out this group by not complying amounts to discrimination on the basis of sex and age? If not, what possible justification can the Minister offer?\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: WASPI women preparing for potential new legal challenge over State Pension age compensation<\/a>READ MORE: Check if DWP State Pension age rise to 67 affects your retirement plans this year<\/a><\/p>\n In response, Mr Bell defended the UK Government\u2019s position, saying it was \u201cunusual but not unprecedented\u201d to take a different view from the Ombudsman.<\/p>\n He told MPs the UK Government had taken the report \u201cincredibly seriously\u201d but had set out its reasons for rejecting compensation in a formal response laid before Parliament earlier this year.<\/p>\n Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon also pressed ministers, raising concerns about thousands of women who were given little time to adjust their retirement plans.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cHow can the Minister justify the decision that no direct financial loss occurred when thousands of women were deprived of the 28-month notice period required to adjust their life savings and retirement plans?\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Bell reiterated the Ombudsman\u2019s findings focused narrowly on how changes were communicated, not the policy itself.<\/p>\n He said it was the Ombudsman that initially concluded women \u201cdid not suffer direct financial loss\u201d, adding: \u201cWhat we are debating in this case is the communications, not the decision itself.\u201d<\/p>\n The SNP\u2019s Seamus Logan accused the UK Government of failing to follow through on previous commitments and questioned what work had been done on a compensation scheme.<\/p>\n The MP for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East also highlighted the last ministerial meeting with WASPI campaigners took place in 2024.<\/p>\n In response, the Pensions Minister said Labour\u2019s election manifesto had made \u201cno commitment\u201d to introduce compensation and repeated that ministers had already set out their position in detail.<\/p>\n DWP has consistently argued while there were failures in communication, this does not justify a blanket payout to an estimated 3.5 million women across the UK.<\/p>\n The WASPI Campaign – along with other groups representing women across the country – has long called for compensation for women born in the 1950s who were not properly informed about changes to their State Pension age.<\/p>\n The Ombudsman previously suggested payouts ranging from \u00a31,000 to \u00a32,950 depending on the level of impact.<\/p>\n However, there is currently no compensation scheme in place, no application process and no timeline for any potential payments.<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s Commons clash shows pressure on ministers is continuing to build, but for now, the UK Government is standing firm against calls to rethink its position.<\/p>\n Join the conversation on our Money Saving Scotland Facebook group<\/a> for money-saving tips, the latest State Pension and benefits news, energy bill advice and cost of living updates.<\/p>\n Sign up to our Record Money newsletter and get the top stories sent to your inbox daily from Monday to Friday with a special cost of living edition every Thursday – sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can also follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @Recordmoney_<\/a> for regular updates throughout the day or get money news alerts on your phone by joining our Daily Record Money WhatsApp community<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0_DR-MOney.png\")
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