Fury as PM claims women knew about pension change

Sir Keir Starmer provoked outrage among Waspi women yesterday after he appeared to point the finger of blame at them despite Labour’s decision not to pay them compensation over changes to their pensions.

- DAVID MADDOX

Less than 24 hours after ministers announced women born in the 1950s would not receive a payout, despite it being recommended by an ombudsman, the prime minister was pressed on the issue by angry MPs in the Commons.

Despite having claimed while in opposition that the changes were an “injustice” that needed to be redressed, Sir Keir doubled down on comments by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, that affected pensioners knew about the changes and therefore should not receive compensation.

He said: “The research shows... that 90 per cent of those impacted knew about the changes that were taking place.”

Angela Madden, chair of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign group, said: “This isn’t just misleading; it’s an insult to millions of 1950s-born women who were blindsided by these changes.”

In March, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) recommended the government pay compensation to women born in the 1950s whose state pension age was raised from 60 to 65 so it would be the same as for men. It said the women should get up to £2,950 each – a package with a potential total cost of £10.5bn to the public purse – as poor communication meant they had lost out on the chance to plan their retirement finances.