Ban on 'Waspi' pension payouts to be reviewed

Millions of "Waspi women" hit by changes to the state pension age have been given fresh hope after the government said it would revisit a decision to deny them payouts.

- Rupert Jones

As many as 3.6 million women born in the 1950s are said to have lost out because of failings in the way changes to the state pension age were made, prompting the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign to launch in 2015.

Ministers sparked an outcry last December by announcing that they would deny compensation to those affected, with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, suggesting that improving public services was a higher priority than spending up to £10.5bn on payouts.

This followed an official report from the parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO) in March last year, which had said the women should be compensated.

However, with a potentially bruising high court challenge due to begin next month, the government has said evidence that was not shown to the then work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, when she made the decision had since come to light and needed to be considered.