Over 3.6 million women across the UK could be eligible for pension compensation.
The Government has yet to confirm whether any compensation will be awarded to the millions of women born in the 1950s who were inadequately informed about the increase in the state pension age.
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign group has labelled this a gross “injustice”, which forced many to postpone retirement plans without prior warning.
READ MORE: Met Police vow to stop violence against women and girls by ‘tracking every suspect in London’
In the South East of England, more than 500,000 of these women live, reports the Manchester Evening News.
An ombudsman has suggested that affected women born in the 1950s should receive an apology and compensation ranging from £1,000 to £2,950. However, this week Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, repeatedly declined to confirm if a decision would be made before the general election.
Pressed by Ed Balls on Good Morning Britain about the next steps, Mr Stride admitted there were “strong feelings” on both sides regarding compensation. He stated: “There’ll be no undue delay in us coming forward, but I do want to have sufficient time. There are very strong feelings about this on all sides of the argument as to whether compensation should be paid or not.”
Further, Mr Stride told the Today programme: “I’m not going to put a precise time limit on it, but we do need to look at these things very carefully.”
You can use our interactive map below to see how many women in your area are affected.
He also emphasised the importance of a thorough process: “I think I owe it to everybody to really make sure that the guiding light in this process is that it is thorough, and that it is conclusive because it has gone on for an awfully long time.”
Meanwhile, campaigners highlight the urgency as they claim a WASPI woman passes away every 13 minutes.
For women born between April 1950 and April 1960 wondering about their pension notification timeline, an interactive tool is available based on the ombudsman’s findings.
According to research from the House of Commons Library, over 3.6 million WASPI women have been impacted by the pension scandal, which didn’t give them enough time to alter their retirement savings plans.
Should the ombudsman’s recommendations be implemented, taxpayers could face a compensation bill ranging from £3.6 to £10.8 billion.
Campaigners are pushing for compensation far exceeding the ombudsman’s suggested figures, with demands for payouts of £10,000 or more per person, potentially leading to a taxpayer bill of £36.8 billion.
WASPI chair Angela Madden stated: “Everyone knows someone who is a WASPI woman and every MP will have heard from grassroots members of our campaign.
“For nine long years, the government has hoped we would just go away, but they have underestimated the strength of feeling and the strength in numbers that we have.
“Finally paying compensation will go some way to right the injustice and is also likely to boost local economies, as women previously in penury enjoy some long-awaited spending power and comfort.
“But that can only happen if the compensation is adequate – reflecting the true injustice we’ve suffered. The government must allow a Commons vote on compensation after Easter.”
Get the biggest stories from around London straight to your inbox. Sign up to MyLondon’s The 12 HERE for the 12 biggest stories each day.
