Scottish Government calls for urgent State Pension age compensation for WASPI women

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville will tell MSPs that the UK Government should ensure justice for 1950s-born women who have been affected by changes to their State Pension age, in a Holyrood debate on Tuesday.

Ms Somerville is also expected to call on the UK Government to compensate Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) women as recommended by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).Speaking ahead of the debate, Ms Somerville said: “This issue has affected 336,000 women in Scotland who deserve to be fairly compensated for the mistakes of the UK Government.

It is vital that the UK Government and DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) take responsibility for these failings and this includes delivering a full compensation package at the earliest possible time.”The Minister added: “I call on the UK Government to listen to the WASPI women’s call for comprehensive compensation, taking into account the financial hardship suffered, coupled with the UK having one of the worst gender pension gaps in the OECD.”An estimated 3.6 million women have been affected by rises to the State Pension age by successive governments, including 331,780 living in Scotland, according to new data obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.The State Pension policy change was first announced in the 1990s to bring women’s retirement age in line with men.

This was later accelerated under the coalition government, over a decade ago, however, there was a 28-month delay in writing to inform them of the changes.Campaigners, led by the WASPI group, have claimed women suffered financial hardship and had to rethink retirement plans.After a six-year investigation, the PHSO’s final report, published on March 21, 2024 stated