Fylde coast 'WASPI' women still fighting for justice after pension age rise fiasco

They are members of the national WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign who claim that around 3.8 million women born in the 1950s have been treated unfairly by the too-rapid changes to their pension age, which rose from 60 to 66 in line with men's.

Some women were affected by as much as £50,000.

What went wrong?

It started with the 1995 Pensions Act, which increased the state pension age for women from 60 to 65 to bring them in line with men, with the change to be phased in over ten years from 2010 for women born between 1950 and 1955.

However, the government did not write to any woman affected by the rise for nearly 14 years after the law was passed in 1995 and this transition was later sped up by the 2011 Pensions Act.

Because of the poor way in which these changes were communicated by the government, both the 1995 and 2011 changes came as a shock to many, with women discovering that they would have to wait up to six years longer for their state pension, potentially affecting their retirement plans.

The changes gave some just a year’s notice of this six-year increase to anticipated retirement ages.

Some gave up work because they had calculated they could afford to manage until they got their state pension, but then found they would have to wait much longer to get the cash.

Campaigners call it an historic injustice which needs to be put right, with thousands of older women still feeling the devastating financial effects of it.

Many of them have used up their life savings to cover for the amount of money they lost out on.

What has happened since?

After setting up a national campaign group called WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) in 2015, women across the country have staged demonstrations and, along with their supporters, set up various petitions and lobbied parliament.

They argued that the Government's lack of proper communication gave women insufficient time to prepare for these major changes and are calling for an immediate compensation package for those affected.

In December last year the Ombudsman found evidence of “maladministration” in the Department for Work and Pensions’ communication about changes in women’s state pension and in its complaints handling.

The WASPI women are continuing to press for justice and are waiting to hear what the Ombudsman has to say at the end of March.

On Wednesday March 8 a demonstration is planned in London and on the Fylde coast, it is hoped that a fund can be set up to help cover the costs of women who can’t afford to travel down.

What they say

Fylde coast sisters Norma Elkington, Susan Dutton, and Mary Waterhouse all originally expected to retire at 60 and geared their futures towards that.

Susan, 67, of Higher Green, Poulton, who ran her own swimming tutor business at Rossall School for many years, says she has been left out of pocked by £48,000.

She says: "I have lost thousands of pounds because I ended up getting the state pension years after I was expecting it.

"If it hadn't been for my husband supporting me I would be in all sorts of financial trouble.

"The point is, many women don't have that support and they have lost their homes.

"Some have already died without getting what they are due.

"So we are planning to go to London to let them know some of us are still alive and still fighting for what we are owed.”

When Mary, 71, of Norbreck Road, Bispham, turned 60 in 2012, the state pension age had just risen and she wasn’t able to retire as planned.

Wracked by pain from arthritis, the mother-of-three and grandmother had to continue as a community careworker because her husband and had been laid off.

Now finally retired, she says she has lost out to the tune of £10,000 and said: “I would go to work on two sticks because I couldn’t walk without them.

“I would never have considered going on benefits because that’s not the way I was brought up, my dad would turn in his grave. I needed to keep going until my husband was finally able to get his pension.”

Norma, 65 who worked as a nurse but had to retire at 50 with a painful condition called complex regional pain syndrome, also says she lost £48,000 said: "We think women of our age group have been treated terribly.

"Some of them are still struggling and now we have the cost of living crisis on top of it.

"With the Ombudman’s findings we hope something can be finally sorted out.”

The campaigners are being supported by Thornton Labour councillor Holly Swales, who has set up a petition for the Waspi women three years ago.

She said: “Because of the terrible way these pension changes were handled, thousands of women have lost a lot of money and suffered incredible stress.

"The only justice for them now is compensation and the fight goes on to get them justice.

"This isn’t going to go away.”

Any compensation packet is expected to be limited to £10,000, less than the amount that some women lost out on, but the campaigners are waiting to hear what will be offered.