waspi women have expressed their disappointment at being budget snub without any mention of compensation to those affected by changes to the state pension age without notice.

Thousands of Waspi (Women Against Inequality in State Pensions) women They gathered outside Parliament on Budget Day demanding that the Government provide compensation to those affected.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that billions in compensation will be set aside for victims of the infected blood and Post Office Skyline scandals, but did not mention the Waspi women affected by historic changes to the state retirement age.

More than three million women born in the 1950s were affected when the state pension age was raised from 60 to 65 and then to 66. Many said they had not been adequately informed or warned of the changes to allow them to prepare for their future. .

In March of this year, the Report of the Parliamentary Ombudsman It recommended that the Waspi women receive compensation of between £1,000 and £2,750.

Shelagh Simmons, WASPI coordinator for Solent and the Isle of Wight, was among the women who took part in the demonstration.

she said Yo that although the Waspi women have not been mentioned in the Budget, they will continue their fight for justice.

Mrs Simmons, who lives in Southsea, Hampshire, said: “We want to make our voices heard. We are not going to be ignored or disappear.

“It is important that the integrity of the Parliamentary Ombudsman is respected and we would expect the same from a Labor government.”

Mrs. Simmons said Yo It was only at the age of 58 that he discovered that his state pension age had changed. The news came after she had already accepted voluntary redundancy from her job for a local charity that year.

“I was 58 when I received a letter from the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) informing me that my state pension age had increased from 65 to 65 and a half,” he explained. “But that was actually the first notification I got that it had actually gone up from 60.

“So at the age of 58, when I thought I only had to wait two more years for my state pension, I discovered I now had almost eight years to wait.”

Ms Simmons says that if she had known the facts about the change to her state pension age, she probably would not have agreed to voluntary redundancy, but she made her decision based on what she thought was going to happen at the time.

She and her husband also saw their income affected by his health. Mr Simmons, a former train conductor, was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 40 after passing a medical test at work.

When he started taking insulin to control his diabetes, he had to stop driving trains and look for a lower-paying job.

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Mrs Simmons says they had to make adjustments due to the delay in receiving her state pension, but she considers herself Luckier than many Waspi women. since he had a small professional pension.

“Many women didn’t have the opportunity to build up an occupational pension because they had breaks for things like having children or caring duties,” she said.

“I have been luckier than some, but there was still a big gap to cover and we had to make adjustments in our spending.”

He added: “I also have an elderly mother who needs my support. Many of us Waspi women have caring responsibilities and are saving the Government a lot of money by caring for elderly relatives and grandchildren.

“The Government has saved £181.4bn off the backs of Waspi women by raising our retirement age. All we want is a fraction of what they saved us as compensation.”

Mrs. Simmons said Yo The women of Waspi have no problem with the state retirement age being equal to that of men, as they believe it is the right thing to do. However, she says this was done, without adequately informing the women or giving them adequate notice why they are fighting for compensation.

And he added: “The way it was done was wrong and they know it was wrong. We had hoped there would be a Government commitment to Waspi women in the Budget and it was disappointing that there was not.

“We know that when we were in opposition, we had the support of the Labor Party and they made several firm statements and commitments to us.

“The Prime Minister and all the ministers have raised a big issue about the Labor Party being the party of social justice. We don’t think it’s very fair that they are willing to ignore the report from the Government’s own watchdog which makes very clear recommendations about what should happen.

“We know we have cross-party support from grassroots MPs, so it would actually be inconceivable for the Government not to do the right thing on our part.”

Angela Madden, chair of Women Against State Pensions Inequality (WASPI), said: “The Chancellor’s Budget was another missed opportunity for ministers to commit to compensating the 3.6 million women affected by changes to their state retirement age.

“Hundreds of MPs across Parliament have declared their support for the campaign since the general election, and their calls for fair and swift compensation are echoed by the vast majority of the public across the country.

“It has been 225 days since the Parliamentary Ombudsman ordered the DWP to compensate those affected.

“With more than 12,000 women dead since the report was published in March, there can be no further delays. “Justice must be given to all Waspi women as quickly as possible.”

The modern state pension was introduced in 1948. For 60 years, men and women who paid enough national insurance received their state pension at age 65 and 60 respectively.

The Pensions Act 1995 aimed to increase the state pension age for women from 60 to 65, equal to that of men, between 2010 and 2020.

The Ombudsman’s March report investigated historical allegations that the DWP “failed to provide adequate, accurate and timely information” about changes to the state pension age since 1995.

The report found “mismanagement” after information about changes to the state pension age “failed to reach the people who needed it most” from 2005.

The PHSO also concluded that “the DWP did not adequately investigate or respond to complaints about these issues,” adding that “there were also avoidable delays in dealing with complaints.”

A government spokesman said: “This is a serious report that requires serious consideration.

“We will continue to listen respectfully to the women involved and ensure we take into account lessons learned.”