Liz Kendall DISMISSES calls for up to £10.5bn of compensation for so-called WASPI women - saying they suffered 'no direct financial loss' from bungled communications about pension state age increase
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Liz Kendall today dismissed calls for up to £10.5billion of compensation for so-called 'WASPI' women. The Work and Pensions Secretary apologised for 'maladministration' with delays in sending letters to women about the increase in the state pension age.
![[The 'WASPI' women have been pushing for a huge payout from the government]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/12/93231319-14201483-image-a-10_1734439997717.jpg)
But she flatly rejected an ombudsman's report suggesting a scheme of payouts of up to £2,950 for each individual affected. In a long-awaited statement to Parliament, Ms Kendall said most women knew about the change anyway and suffered 'no direct financial loss'.
![[Keir Starmer previously backed handing WASPI women £58billion during the 2019 election campaign]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/13/93232165-14201483-image-a-11_1734440588428.jpg)
She argued that a compensation scheme for more than three million people would impose 'significant cost' on the taxpayer and not be 'fair or appropriate'. But campaigners branded the response a 'betrayal' and 'day of shame' - with Labour already under fire from pensioners for slashing winter fuel payments.
Keir Starmer previously supported Labour's pledge to give WASPI women £58billion during the 2019 general election. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologised for 'maladministration' with delays in sending letters to women about the increase in the state pension age.
The 'WASPI' women have been pushing for a huge payout from the government. Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) have demanded payouts for women who were born in the 1950s and say they did not get adequate warnings about changes to the state pension.
The decision to push up the pension age was taken in the mid-1990s. But the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found that affected women should have had at least 28 months' more individual notice of the changes by the Department for Work and Pensions.
