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Former teacher Julie Hince, who had to sell half her home as a result of the WASPI scandal, said Labour ‘will pay’ for the decision not to pay compensation to millions of women like her
A former teacher who had to sell half her home because of the state pension age scandal has voiced her fury at the Government’s WASPI “betrayal”.
Julie Hince retired at 58 believing her savings would see her through to 60 – unaware that new rules meant she couldn’t claim for a further six years. Today Work and Pensions Minister Liz Kendall announced that 3.5million women like Julie wouldn’t receive payouts, despite an independent watchdog saying they should.
Julie, now 65, warned: “WASPI women will never forget this, and neither will their families. There will come a day when Labour will really pay for this.”
Julie, from Devon, was stunned to learn from a friend that she would not be eligible for a state pension until she was 66. She had not received a letter or any communication from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) notifying her of the change. Facing the prospect of losing her home, she agreed to sell half to a friend, who has moved in.
In March the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman called on Parliament to urgently pay out between £1,000 and £2,950 to victims. But Ms Kendall ruled out doing so – despite having previously said she supports the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign.
She said the “vast majority” of affected women knew about the change, and sending out letters on time would have made little difference. She said allocating between £3.5billion and £10.5billion to a compensation scheme would not be good value for taxpayers.
Julie told The Mirror: “It’s an absolutely shameful day for this Government. I’m absolutely furious, I think it’s shameful behaviour. What Liz Kendall said makes absolutely no sense to me.
“She said there’s no evidence of direct financial loss, I can certainly say that’s not the case, I’ve had a huge financial loss. When she said that sending letters earlier wouldn’t have made a difference, that’s totally false.
“Had more people been aware, they’d have made other choices.”
She said she hopes MPs from across the chamber continue to fight for compensation. The announcement has sparked fury across the political spectrum.
In a scathing report in March watchdog the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman called on Parliament to urgently pay out between £1,000 and £2,950 per victim. Angela Madden, who chairs the WASPI campaign, said: “This is a bizarre and totally unjustified move which will leave everyone asking what the point of an ombudsman is if ministers can simply ignore their decisions. It feels like a decision that would make the likes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump blush.”
Mrs Madden branded it an “insult both to the women and to the PHSO process”. Lib Dem Steve Darling told the Commons: “This is nothing short of a betrayal of WASPI women”. He said millions of women would be “shocked and horrified” by the decision.
Meanwhile former pensions minister Baroness Altmann said: “I am a WASPI woman and would not want taxpayers to compensate me personally because I knew about it.
“However I do believe there is a strong moral case for the worst affected women, who have suffered serious hardship, to claim on a case-by-case basis.”
The Work and Pensions Secretary told MPs: “Given the vast majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing, the Government does not believe paying a flat rate to all women, at a cost of up to £10.5 billion, would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers money.”
Responding to anger, Keir Starmer said: “I do understand the concerns, the ombudsman’s findings were clear in relation to the maladministration but also clear about the lack of direct financial injustice… and that’s why we’ve taken the decision we’ve taken.
“But I do understand the concern of the WASPI women but I do of course have to take into account whether it’s right to impose further burden on the taxpayer which is what it would be.”
Announcing the decision in the Commons, Ms Kendall faced anger from within her own party, with backbencher Brian Leishmann telling her: “I am appalled by this decision.”
In March a bombshell watchdog report said more than three million women born in the 1950s should receive payouts of up to £2,995 and an apology due to the shambolic handling of the pension age rise.
Thousands were thrown into poverty because they weren’t informed about the change and could not plan for their future.
Campaigners say the average victim missed out on over £50,000 in pension payments. Between April 2010 and November 2018 the State Pension age for women gradually increased from 60 to 65. It went up again to 66 in October 2020, and is due to go up to 67 by 2028.
