wasp Campaigners have called on the Government to pay compensation and “stop kicking the can down the road” after Rachel Reeves warned “tough decisions” would be needed to fix the problems in the Budget. £22 billion black hole In Britain’s public finances.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been accused of failing to adequately inform Waspi women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1960 that the state pension age would increase from 60 to 65.

This has prevented millions of women from properly planning for retirement, leading to many ending up in retirement. financial distress and poverty.

damn one report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) in March. DWP found guilty of “mismanagement” He called on the Government to pay compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 to those “who have suffered injustice” after women were not properly informed about changes to state pension ages.

Campaigners from Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) said: I “They are waiting with bated breath for the Government to announce measures to compensate them in next week’s Budget, but they are worried that nothing will happen as a result” Chancellor’s cost-saving approach.

Former civil servant Clare Wilkins, 66, from Bingham, Nottinghamshire, said she was forced to “live badly” after learning she would receive her state pension at 66 instead of 60.

“I was in poverty for 2 years,” Ms. Wilkins said. “I retired from my public service pension at age 60 and sold my house, but when the equity in my house ran out my rent accounted for 60 percent of my income.

“I have now received my state pension and I have not yet overcome the difficulties caused by not being able to retire. “I have no savings and I have been trying to make up for it with lack of money for two years.”

Ms Wilkins accused the Government of “kicking the can” by failing to compensate women who were not informed about changes to state pensions, and added that she would be attending a Waspi demonstration in Westminster on Budget day.

“Many women have become impoverished or died struggling with it, but the fight continues,” Ms. Wilkins said.

The Waspi group estimates that at least 270,000 affected women died during its campaign.

Although this is the first year Ms Wilkins will receive the state pension, she is not eligible for pension credit or other income-based benefits, meaning she will not receive any pension. winter fuel assistance Under the command of the Labor Party new rules.

“I waited until I was 66 to get my state pension, then found out the first thing the Government announced was that it would cancel winter fuel payments.

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“This is a big blow for me, especially fuel prices rising.

“I suffer from depression, so anxiety is an issue for me,” Ms Wilkins said, adding that “not being able to make ends meet” due to cuts in fuel payments in the winter was damaging her mental health.

“It’s a precarious existence,” he said I.

The DWP said it could not speculate on the outcome of the Budget but acknowledged PHSO’s report required “serious consideration”.

A DWP spokesman said: “We will continue to listen respectfully to the women who took part and will ensure we take into account any lessons learned.”

Frances Neil, 70, from south-east Essex, said she was “shocked” after being told she would not be able to collect her state pension less than a year before she planned to retire as a headteacher.

“The impact was huge. Without adequate notice to plan or prepare, I suddenly wouldn’t be able to get the things the government has been promising my entire working life.”

Miss Neil said I He said that after he turned 60, he continued to work part-time as an educational consultant to “make up for the pension that I had added to my plans and could not receive.”

“It was part-time, but it brought in an amount of money that bridged the gap between what I expected and what I got.

“Many Waspi women had to give up their dreams, aspirations and a comfortable life,” she added. “If you’re suddenly faced with no money coming in, it’s a terrible shock. There was the stress of that and the stress of continuing to work.

“We wait with bated breath for the Government to enact PHSO’s recommendations in this Budget, but we fear we will be left waiting. “We are worried that nothing will happen.”

The modern state pension was introduced in 1948. For 60 years, men and women who made sufficient national insurance contributions received state pensions of 65 and 60 percent respectively.

The Pensions Act 1995 envisaged raising women’s state pension age from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020, making it the same as men’s.

This process was accelerated by the 2011 Pensions Act, which raised the state pension age for women to 65 in 2018, then increased the state pension age for both women and men to 66 by 2020.

PHSO’s March report investigated past complaints that the DWP “failed to provide sufficient, accurate and timely information” about changes to the state pension age since 1995.

The report found “poor management” after information about changes to the state pension age from 2005 “failed to reach those who needed it most”.

PHSO also found that “DWP did not adequately investigate and respond to complaints about these matters”, adding that there were “avoidable delays in dealing with complaints as well”.

The state pension age is planned to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and to 68 between 2044 and 2046.