WASPI women insist 8.5 percent rise in State Pension will not end financial misery | Personal Finance | Finance
WASPI women who were left out of pocket by changes to the official retirement age say an imminent increase in the State Pension will do little to ease their money worries.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign group is demanding compensation after they lost out when the official retirement age was increased from 60 to 65.
Last month, they won support from an official report of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) which ruled there was a failure to properly notify the 3.8 million women involved.
It suggested these women might be due compensation of £1,000-£2,950, however neither the Conservatives nor Labour have made any commitment to pay up amid a squeeze on government finances.
The State Pension rises by 8.5 percent on Monday. As a result the new State Pension will go up by £902.20 a year to £11,502 while the old basic state pension goes up £691.60 to £8,814 a year.
Despite this increase many of the Waspi women say they expect to continue to face money troubles.
For example, Karen Glynn, aged 67, from Manchester, is having to work one day a week to pay her bills despite living with a life-limiting and incurable condition.
She was forced to live off her savings following her husband’s death rather than being able to rely on a state pension.
She told the ‘i’ newspaper: “Eventually I was forced to sell my home, full of all my memories of our family. It was meant to be our forever home.
“I’m 68 this year and still working. My health has deteriorated, and I feel totally let down by the government of this country over the last 10 or so years.”
The part-time resource officer, who works at Manchester City Library, said her children are “devastated” that she still has to work.
While she said the rise in the state pension will quickly be swallowed up by increases in other must pay bills.
Lorraine Gibson-Chalmers, 69, from Runcorn, Cheshire, said the imminent increases in the state pension was “not a great lot”.
The grandmother said she first found out she would not be able to retire at 60 while speaking to a neighbour.
Ms Gibson-Chalmers explained that she is struggling with her finances despite receiving a state pension for almost three years.
Karen Ridgway, 66, from Blackpool, was working as a carer for the local council when she was forced to change her retirement plans.
She said: “I remember being at work when I was in my 50s, working for the council as a carer.
“Most of the women at work were either my age or older. We were all counting down the weeks and years till we retired at 60. Nobody had a clue. Nobody told us at work.”
On this year’s state pension rise, she said: “It’s not going to help because the cost of living and everything else has gone up.”
The campaign group is pressing MPs to force a vote in the House of Commons to bring forward compensation.
The Department for Work & Pensions said: “The government has always been committed to supporting all pensioners in a sustainable way that gives them a dignified retirement while also being fair to them and taxpayers.”