The previous government increased the state pension age for women born in the 1950s, at short notice and with no safety net for the women affected.

I empathise with all the 1950s women who were left in the lurch on this vitally important issue. People plan their futures around their pensions, and so to move the goal posts of when they can receive their pensions, was a cruel and mismanaged decision by the last government.     

I repeatedly called on Ministers under the previous government to do right by the women harmed by their pension changes. However, they never did.  

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) investigated this issue and published its report in March, which called for the DWP to pay compensation to the women affected by the department’s ‘maladministration’ of the pension changes. Instead of paying this compensation, the previous Government kicked the can down the road and sat on the report for 5 months.  

We now have a new government which has inherited this situation along with a country that has fallen into disrepair across the board and public finances which are in dire straits. This includes outstanding compensation owed for other scandals, including those relating to contaminated blood, the post office, Windrush, and others. 

With this in mind, on 8 August, I wrote to the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall, and raised this issue with her.

I have now received a reply from Emma Reynolds, the Minister for Pensions. I have posted copies of both of these letters below this message.

I understand that this Government is new and therefore needs time to study the PHSO’s investigation and set out a response. However, I also appreciate how frustrating it has been for the women affected by the pension change who have been waiting years for compensation and justice. 

These two things are what I will continue to press the Government to provide in its response to the PHSO’s investigation. The injustice that was done to these women must not be forgotten. 

More widely, lessons must also be learnt from what has happened over recent decades to ensure that everyone can properly plan for their retirement. This includes guaranteeing that information about any changes to the State Pension Age is communicated in a timely and targeted way, and that it is tailored to individual needs. In my view, this needs to be an iron cast commitment.