A senior DWP minister has provided an update on compensation for the WASPI women (Women Against State Pension Inequality). Labour ministers announced in January there would not be any compensation for the generation of 1950s-born women impacted by the rise in the state pension age for women, from 60 to 65 and then 66.

The WASPI campaigners claim the women were not properly informed of the change ahead of time, with many left unaware right up to the last minute. Many of the women say their retirement plans were ruined when they found out.

But Labour announced in January 2026 that there would be no payouts. A previous investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found there was ‘maladministration’ as the DWP should have written a letter to the women sooner.

But ministers contended that sending out letters sooner would have made little difference, and that most women did know their state pension age was going up. They rejected the Ombudsman’s recommendation that the women should be paid compensation ranging from £1,000 to £2,950.

A different conclusion

DWP minister Torsten Bell was recently asked by an MP committee about the Government’s decision to disagree with the Ombudsman’s ruling that there should be payouts, despite ministers accepting there was maladministration. Mr Bell told the Work and Pensions Committee: “It is unusual, but not unprecedented, for us to come to a different conclusion from them.

“It is clearly for the PHSO to come to judgments on maladministration, and we have reflected that in how we have engaged with it. We have obviously come to a different view on remedy, and we have set out the reasons for that at great length.”

The minister went on to stress that the Government does have a lot of respect for the PHSO. Mr Bell said: “However, I do not think that should be taken to say anything about the seriousness with which we take the PHSO generally.

“It is not just me meeting with the PHSO; the permanent secretary has and there are regular meetings at the moment with them on our action plan and the rest.

“On the broader importance of the PHSO, which provides an important route for those who have exhausted other sources of complaints processes, it has a really important role to play. I have made that very clear to the PHSO myself.”

Key changes to the state pension

The minister also said of the WASPI decision: “We have accepted the maladministration judgment. That is why we have apologised.”

The state pension age is going up again, increasing gradually from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and April 2028. The access age is moving up again from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046.