Pensions minister Emma Reynolds has seemingly ruled out compensation for women affected by the rise in state pension age, saying they should return to work or retrain.  

Three years ago, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found that poor communication and complaints handling by the Department for Work and Pensions was to blame for some 1950s-born women – represented by campaign group Women Against State Pension Age Inequality - losing out financially when the government increased women’s state pension age from 60 to 65. In March, PHSO recommended compensating those affected by the maladministration with £1,000 to £2,950 each. 
 

 

The ombudsman at the time noted that the Department for Work and Pensions’ position led it to “strongly doubt it will provide a remedy”. 
 

Compensation looks increasingly unlikely. On 16 September, pensions minister Emma Reynolds – who has a dual role as Treasury minister – issued a written answer to a question on whether she will assess the merits of a hardship fund for women affected by the change in state pension age.  

Reynolds replied that “the government believes the best way to support people, including women who have been affected by the change to the state pension age, is to help them to retrain, return to or progress in work”, referring to a forthcoming white paper on employment support.  

“For those women who are unable to work but who are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age, financial support is still available through the welfare system,” she added.  

On the same day, Reynolds told an audience in London that she is “very much interested” in the gender pensions gap. 
   

 

The Labour party did not mention Waspi women in its election manifesto in June. 
 

Last year, a Waspi-commissioned survey of 7,781 women born in the 1950s found 45% were unable to pay household bills, and a quarter struggled to buy essentials. One in three reported having been in debt in the preceding six months.  

 

People in their early to mid-60s have the highest poverty rate of any adult age group, socialist organisation the Fabian Society said in April, as a result of the government putting up state pension age without introducing other measures. The IFS found in 2023 that about a quarter of 65-year-olds lived in poverty, more than doubling in one year as the state pension age rose from 65 to 66. 

 

The age at which a state pension can be claimed is due to go up to 67 between 2026 and 2028. It is expected to rise to 68 between 2044-46.