A touchy subject
The campaigners for the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group formed in 2015, and have been fighting their cause ever since, with still no clear end in sight.
It could be ages until any decision is made on compensation, and even then it will take a while to set up a scheme and make these payments.
Putting it frankly, some of these people could be dead before they see a penny.
While Waspi is not against equalisation, it believes the way changes to the state pension age were implemented with inadequate or no notice was unfair.
Hence their passion.
But there is equal passion among its contenders who ultimately do not understand how people can say they didn’t know about the changes.
Also many are against paying out so much in compensation when the UK is in a technical recession and people are still battling their way through a cost of living crisis.
I don’t think these two groups of people will ever agree, and the state pension age change issue will forever remain a delicate subject that will ignite fury among those who believe they are right.
Ultimately we need to move on from this issue – frankly if I never heard the word Waspi it would not be a day too soon – but for that to happen parliament needs to make its mind up.
Amy Austin is news editor at FT Adviser
This article has been updated to reflect the report was from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and not the Financial Ombudsman Service.
