Legal challenge over the State Pension age changing for women is progressing to the High Court
A top High Court judge has confirmed that a legal challenge by the Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign (WASPI) will start within weeks, as new research unveils the impact of changes to the State Pension age for women across the UK.
The WASPI team has announced that the two-day face-off between campaigners and senior UK Government lawyers is set to begin on 9 December 2025. Representatives from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will stand before the High Court to defend the UK Government’s reaction to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) final report into State Pension age alterations, which was published in March 2024.
It’s estimated that around 3.5 million women born in the 1950s across the UK missed out on State Pension payments due to increases in the official retirement age by successive governments. Ministers acknowledged wrongdoing in response to the landmark report in December 2024 but declined to offer any compensation to the affected women.
Backed by hundreds of MPs and senior trade union figures, WASPI campaigners argue that the UK Government’s response to the report is flawed and have called on ministers to reconsider, reports the Daily Record.
If successful, the High Court could compel ministers to go back to the drawing board to reassess the PHSO’s report. However, it’s crucial to note that the court cannot directly force the DWP to compensate WASPI women. WASPI has announced that UK Government lawyers are now expected to serve hundreds – possibly thousands – of pages of material in support of its defence.
The news of WASPI’s day in court follows a poll of more than 5,000 WASPI women which found that nearly three-quarters (72%) of them worry about their finances. As MPs prepare to return to Westminster on Monday, campaigners are more determined than ever to seek justice.
Angela Madden, Chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) stated: “With our day in court now on the horizon, we are more determined than ever to secure the fair compensation that WASPI women deserve.
“We are backed by hundreds of MPs across the political parties, dozens of trade unions and influential organisations, alongside an overwhelming majority of the public. Ministers should stop dithering and get around the table with WASPI women or face being forced to defend the indefensible in court in a matter of weeks.”