WASPI RECONSIDERATION AN “OVERDUE OLIVE BRANCH”

LONDON, 12 NOVEMBER 2025 State Pension campaigners have welcomed the Government’s decision to review compensation for women affected by State Pension age changes, calling it “a long overdue but important olive branch.”

Later Life Ambitions (LLA), representing 250,000 older people nationwide, said the decision offers hope that ministers are finally beginning to take older people’s concerns seriously after a period of unfair and short-sighted policy decisions.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found earlier this year that thousands of women born in the 1950s suffered maladministration and injustice when the State Pension age was raised without adequate notice.

Eamonn Donaghy, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Occupational Pensioners and a  spokesperson for LLA, said: “If the Government is genuinely re-examining compensation, that would be a welcome olive branch to the many women who’ve waited far too long for justice. The PHSO’s findings were clear: these women were let down by poor communication and inadequate notice.”

He added that the move comes as older people face growing financial pressure, from the loss of universal Winter Fuel Payments to frozen tax thresholds that risk pulling more pensioners into paying tax.

“Older people have borne the brunt of too many short-sighted decisions,” Donaghy said. “Reconsidering this injustice is not only the right thing to do, but a sign the Government may finally be listening to those in later life.”

LLA said the issue highlights wider inequalities, with women typically retiring on 35% less pension wealth than men. Its Budget for Later Life calls for reforms to close the gender pension gap by valuing unpaid caring work, expanding National Insurance credits and ensuring workplace pensions work for low-paid and part-time women.