Millions of “Waspi women,” an acronym for Women Against State Pension Inequality, have received renewed hope for compensation after the UK government announced its decision to revisit an earlier denial of payouts. This enduring dispute centers on approximately 3.6 million women born in the 1950s and the first three months of 1960, who assert they suffered financial detriment due to the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) inadequate communication regarding changes to the state pension age.

Historically, the state pension age for women in the UK was 60. Legislation in 1995 outlined a gradual increase to 65, to be phased in between 2010 and 2020. However, the coalition government in 2011 accelerated this timeline, leading to the state pension age for women rising to 65 by November 2018 and further to 66 by October 2020. The Waspi campaign, initiated in 2015, contends that these significant changes were not properly communicated, leaving many women unaware and unable to adjust their retirement plans, with some only discovering their increased pension age after giving up work.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) conducted an extensive investigation into these claims, concluding in a report released in March of last year (2023) that the DWP was guilty of maladministration in its handling of the state pension age adjustments. The PHSO recommended that affected women should be compensated, suggesting payouts ranging from £1,000 to £2,950 per individual. If all 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were to receive such compensation, the total cost could range from £3.5 billion to £10.5 billion. However, the PHSO also qualified its recommendation by stating that not all women born in the 1950s would necessarily have suffered an injustice.

Despite the PHSO’s clear recommendation, the UK government initially denied compensation to the Waspi women in an announcement last December (2023). This decision provoked widespread criticism, with the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, indicating that the government prioritized improving public services over allocating up to £10.5 billion for payouts. Ministers also argued that a majority of women were already aware of the changes, and earlier communication would have had little additional impact.

In a recent and pivotal development, the government has declared its intention to “retake” the decision regarding compensation. This announcement comes merely weeks before a critical two-day High Court legal challenge by Waspi campaigners was scheduled to commence in December. Pat McFadden, the current Work and Pensions Secretary, informed the Commons that new evidence, which was not available to his predecessor Liz Kendall when the initial denial was made, had since emerged and warranted reconsideration. He stated that ministers would review this new information alongside evidence previously considered.

However, McFadden was careful to manage expectations, explicitly stating, “Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress.” Senior Whitehall sources reportedly do not believe that the newly reviewed evidence will fundamentally alter the government’s ultimate decision, suggesting the move is primarily a strategic response to the impending legal action. Angela Madden, chair of Waspi, welcomed the announcement as a