On Saturday 29th April 1950s born women from all over Ceredigion attended the first general meeting of the local Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) Campaign since lockdown. They were eager to hear news about their claim for compensation for the lack of notice they had that their state pensions had been delayed by six years.
The meeting was addressed by Ben Lake MP and Pamela Judge, Ceredigion WASPI Campaign Joint Co-ordinator and member of WASPI’s national Steering Group.
“I am in awe of the WASPI members in Ceredigion”, said Ben Lake. “Their persistence and effectiveness in ensuring that the campaign remains one of the top issues in Parliament is commendable. I am proud to offer my full continued support to the cause.”
“It’s been a long campaign and it’s not over yet,” added Pamela Judge. “We are definitely making progress. Five years ago hundreds of women in Ceredigion registered formal complaints that they had not had enough notice that their state pension age had been changed. The Ombudsman ruled in 2021 that this delay was maladministration.
“This was a good start but sadly things began to go downhill. A second report about whether we had suffered injustice and might be due compensation was issued last summer. Thanks to legal action taken by our colleagues in the Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign and supported by us, this report has been deemed legally flawed. The Ombudsman has agreed to look at it again without the need to go to court. Let’s hope he gets it right this time!
“Once a final report has been issued which is legally correct its recommendations will be passed to Parliament. Usually the Government accepts recommendations from the Ombudsman but we will have to wait and see what happens in our case.”
A collection from those present raised £81 to help with the legal costs of the case.
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