Overview
- Department for Work and Pensions minister Torsten Bell told MPs the government reached a different remedy than the Ombudsman and said such disagreement is unusual but not unprecedented.
- Bell said senior officials are holding regular meetings with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the department’s action plan despite rejecting compensation.
- The government has declined the Ombudsman’s suggested payments of £1,000 to £2,950 per woman after accepting there was maladministration in how changes were communicated.
- Ministers argue earlier letters would have changed little and that a payout scheme would misuse public funds, while campaigners say poor notice upended retirement plans.
- WASPI chair Angela Madden says the group is taking legal advice, and the backdrop includes a scheduled rise in the state pension age from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028, with a further step to 68 planned for the 2040s.