Women hit by changes to the state pension age have warned they will not accept empty promises from the Government.
Pensions minister Emma Reynolds has agreed to sit down with campaigners next month to discuss their demands for compensation. It has raised hopes for millions who were not informed about their state pension age being raised.
The meeting comes six months after a ruling found women born in the 1950s could be owed up to £10.5billion. The Government has not yet committed to a payout.
That is despite the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman ruling that the affected women had ‘lost opportunities to make informed decisions about their finances’ as a result of maladministration by the Department for Work and Pensions and deserved compensation.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign has previously said it felt ‘badly let down’ by the Government’s failure to respond to the watchdog’s report.
Some 16,000 affected women have died since the report was published. Angela Madden, of the Waspi campaign, said: ‘We look forward to meeting with the pensions minister… which is an important first step in our work with the new administration to see justice delivered to all Waspi women.
‘However, there is no time for complacency. We will continue to pursue all avenues to see a fair remedy delivered as quickly as possible.’
Frances Neil, the campaign’s coordinator for south-east Essex, said: ‘We need to see details of a compensation scheme that reflects the scale of injustice women have experienced as quickly as possible.’
Chancellor Rachel Reeves sparked outrage ahead of the election after saying she would not make any provisions in Labour’s manifesto to compensate women affected. Members of the Cabinet, including Sir Keir Starmer, have previously supported the Waspi campaign.
Up to 3.8million women born in the 1950s should have received letters informing them about changes to the state pension age made from 2010 to 2020, the ombudsman said.