Council backs WASPI calls for ‘fair’ women’s pension compensation

Women affected by changes to the state pension qualifying age deserve “fair, prompt and just” compensation, councillors in Caerphilly have agreed.

Members of the county borough council voted unanimously on Tuesday February 25 to back WASPI campaigners, mostly born in the 1950s, who claim they were not given proper notice their pension age would rise from 60 to 66.

Cllr Teresa Parry, who presented the motion, said the situation had “caused serious financial stress for many”, who faced “unplanned years” of additional work and “loss of expected retirement income”.

Cllr Charlotte Bishop, who seconded the motion, said women affected by the changes “did everything right” and paid into their pensions “in good faith”.

She told the meeting WASPI campaigners were “not asking for special treatment”.

Cllr Sean Morgan, the former leader of the local authority, warned “trust in politicians is at an all-time low” after MPs who previously supported the WASPI campaign failed to deliver any compensation.

Several councillors declared a personal interest in the debate because they were either affected by the pension changes or had a family member who was affected.

Cllr Parry also read out a statement from Lianne Dallimore, the Caerphilly branch secretary for trade union Unison.

In it, Ms Dallimore said Unison supported the calls for “justice” and “fairness” for the women affected by an “accelerated” change in the state pension age, which she said had “reshaped their lives”.

She said women were “denied the chance” to make plans or prepare financially for changes they were not adequately informed about, or had to remain in work during years they had expected to be retired.

An ombudsman’s report found “maladministration” in the way the pension changes were handled, but the government has so far declined to pay out compensation.

Recently, a UK Government minister said the women affected “did not suffer any direct financial loss from the delay”, adding there were doubts an earlier letter would have been likely “to make a difference to what the majority of women knew about their own state pension age”.

Councillors in Caerphilly voted unanimously to support Cllr Parry’s WASPI motion.

It means the council leader, Cllr Jamie Pritchard, will be asked to write to Westminster calling for a “swift implementation of a fair compensation scheme”.