Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, has spoken out in support of Waspi women.
Whilst the UK Government has accepted that changes affecting women born in the 1950s weren't communicated quickly enough, Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP, has rejected a recommendation to pay Waspi women up to £2,950 each.
About 3.6 million women were affected by the 1995 decision to increase the pension age to 65. Of those, 2.6 million were affected by the decision to bring the date forward to 2018.
Commenting on the Waspi campaign, Janet said:
“I acknowledged that UK Governments under the Conservatives, Liberals, and Labour have failed Waspi women.
“I do not oppose the equalisation of the state pension age for women and men, but agree that there was a failure to communicate the pension changes effectively.
“Earlier this year the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said the UK Government had failed to adequately inform thousands of women that the state pension age had changed. The current UK Government should respect the Ombudsman and pay the money owed.
“What makes this even worse is that both Liz Kendall and the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, previously supported the Waspi campaign. It now looks as if they were only doing so in the hope of gaining popular support, because at the first opportunity to act and end the scandal, they have failed to take the right course of action”.
ENDS
