Pensions minister Guy Opperman continues to evade WASPI issue in Parliament
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, July 22, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A PARLIAMENTARY ANSWER from freshly reappointed Pensions Minister Guy Opperman has left campaign group Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) astounded by his “stubborn refusal to engage with issue”.
Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions this week what discussion her Department has had with representatives of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and on when they plan to publish the stage two report on complaints about communication of changes to women’s State Pension age.
Pensions Minister Guy Opperman responded saying that the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) stage two report is a matter for the Ombudsman and that it would not be appropriate to comment whilst the investigation is ongoing.
This is a blow to WASPI campaigners who have been trying to meet Opperman since the PHSO confirmed last year that 1950s-born women were victims of maladministration by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The group is campaigning for a one-off compensation payment for those women affected by the DWP’s failure to adequately communicate the changes to State Pension Age from 60 to 66 in time for women to make fresh retirement plans.
WASPI women are urging the DWP to lay out compensation plans ahead of the final stages of the Ombudsman, as many WASPI women are approaching their retirement in a state of financial hardship exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.
WASPI campaigners point to the closing timeframe in which the DWP can right its historic injustice as – according to new WASPI research - by the end of this year 220,000 affected women will have already died awaiting compensation.
The changes to women’s pensions, which were legislated for in 1995, were not communicated through targeted letters to most of those affected until 2012, leading the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to find that “The opportunity that additional notice would have given them to adjust their retirement plans was lost.”
WASPI Chair and Finance Director Angela Madden said: "We are grateful for MPs such as Kerry McCarthy’s continued support for the WASPI campaign.
“Our members are understandably getting frustrated by Opperman’s stubborn refusal to engage with the issue and are beginning to conclude that the Government is just choosing to ignore the issue rather than rectify it when they can.
“The Ombudsman has already been found guilty by the DWP of maladministration of the communication changes to women’s State Pension age. Despite this, the Government is refusing to meet with campaigners to agree on fair and fast compensation.”
For more information visit: https://www.waspi.co.uk/
Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions this week what discussion her Department has had with representatives of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and on when they plan to publish the stage two report on complaints about communication of changes to women’s State Pension age.
Pensions Minister Guy Opperman responded saying that the publication of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) stage two report is a matter for the Ombudsman and that it would not be appropriate to comment whilst the investigation is ongoing.
This is a blow to WASPI campaigners who have been trying to meet Opperman since the PHSO confirmed last year that 1950s-born women were victims of maladministration by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The group is campaigning for a one-off compensation payment for those women affected by the DWP’s failure to adequately communicate the changes to State Pension Age from 60 to 66 in time for women to make fresh retirement plans.
WASPI women are urging the DWP to lay out compensation plans ahead of the final stages of the Ombudsman, as many WASPI women are approaching their retirement in a state of financial hardship exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.
WASPI campaigners point to the closing timeframe in which the DWP can right its historic injustice as – according to new WASPI research - by the end of this year 220,000 affected women will have already died awaiting compensation.
The changes to women’s pensions, which were legislated for in 1995, were not communicated through targeted letters to most of those affected until 2012, leading the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to find that “The opportunity that additional notice would have given them to adjust their retirement plans was lost.”
WASPI Chair and Finance Director Angela Madden said: "We are grateful for MPs such as Kerry McCarthy’s continued support for the WASPI campaign.
“Our members are understandably getting frustrated by Opperman’s stubborn refusal to engage with the issue and are beginning to conclude that the Government is just choosing to ignore the issue rather than rectify it when they can.
“The Ombudsman has already been found guilty by the DWP of maladministration of the communication changes to women’s State Pension age. Despite this, the Government is refusing to meet with campaigners to agree on fair and fast compensation.”
For more information visit: https://www.waspi.co.uk/
Polly de Burgh Marsh
Higginson Strategy
7966268902 ext.
polly@higginsonstrategy.com
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