It has been described as a "monumental day" for WASPI women as a new report has found that all women affected by the scandal should receive compensation.

A report into how increases in retirement ages have affected Women Against State Pension Inequality campaigners was published today.

It found that the women experienced a significant and/or lasting impact which is level four on the scale, which is between £1,000 and £2,950.

In addition to compensation, the report said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) should apologise for the impact it has had on those affected.

The report, from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), followed a 67-month investigation into the injustice suffered by a group of women born in the 1950s.

Women born between 1950 and 1960 were affected when the government raised the state pension age for women born on or after April 6, 1950 from 60 to 65, and then to 66, bringing it in line with men.

But the DWP failed to make the women aware of this until April 2009.

In July 2021, the ombudsman published the first stage of its investigation, finding failings in the way DWP communicated changes to women’s state pension age.

The report found the DWP were 28 months late in writing directly to the women affected, contacting them in April 2009 instead of December 2006. 

"The opportunity that additional notice would have given them to adjust their retirement plans was lost," the first report found.

East Anglian Daily Times: WASPI women have been likened to modern-day Suffragettes.WASPI women have been likened to modern-day Suffragettes. (Image: Newsquest)

Suffolk WASPI coordinator Karen Sheldon said: "Today is a monumental day for all WASPI women, especially in Suffolk, where around 47,000 women have been affected.

"This has been a severe travesty of injustice by the DWP, and it has been a long, long wait for this report.

"The WASPI campaign has had tremendous support from politicians from across parties, as part of the APPG.

"They are looking for compensation at the level of six on the scale of injustice, which is considerably higher than the level four, and that is what we will be campaigning for.

"All of these WASPI women will now be watching and waiting to see if the politicians who have supported us will continue to support us with compensation.

"We are waiting to see if they will put their money where their mouth is."

East Anglian Daily Times: WASPI women protesting their case in London. WASPI women protesting their case in London. (Image: Newsquest)

According to the WASPI campaign group, during the course of WASPI’s campaign – and the prolonged PHSO investigation – more than 270,000 WASPI women have died waiting for justice.

Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) chair, Angela Madden, said: “The DWP’s refusal to accept the clear conclusions of this five year long investigation is simply unbelievable.

"One of the affected women is dying every 13 minutes, and we just cannot afford to wait any longer.

“Now that the PHSO findings have at last been published, all parties owe it to the women affected to make a clear and unambiguous commitment to compensation.”

Chief executive of the ombudsman, Rebecca Hilsenrath, said: ”The UK’s national ombudsman has made a finding of failings by DWP in this case, and has ruled that the women affected are owed compensation.

“DWP has clearly indicated that it will refuse to comply. This is unacceptable. The department must do the right thing and it must be held to account for failure to do so.

“Complainants should not have to wait and see whether DWP will take action to rectify its failings.

“Given the significant concerns we have that it will fail to act on our findings, and given the need to make things right for the affected women as soon as possible, we have proactively asked Parliament to intervene and hold the department to account.

“Parliament now needs to act swiftly, and make sure a compensation scheme is established. We think this will provide women with the quickest route to remedy.”