Ex-pensions ministers told the government it is time to pay up after a watchdog found thousands of women are owed compensation over retirement age changes.
A blistering report found women born in the 1950s were not properly told the age they could finish work was rising.
But the ombudsman fears its calls for payouts of up to £3,000 to be made will be ignored by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Ex-coalition pension’s minister Sir Steve Webb, a partner at pension consultants LCP, said the government should sort it out urgently.
He said: “When Parliament sets up an independent Ombudsman process it is vital that the Government abides by its findings.
“It is well over a decade since the government realised many women were unaware of state pension age changes but did nothing about it, so there should be no further delay.”
Ex-pension minister Sir Steve Webb says urgent solution is needed in compensation row (Image: Getty)
Sir Steve added: “If the Government’s position remains that no compensation is due, I cannot believe they will get the support of Parliament.
“It would be better for them to come up with a resolution scheme as a matter of urgency”.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) investigated potential injustices caused by the decision to raise women’s retirement age to bring it into line with men’s.
It said the pensioners affected – known as Waspi women after the campaign Women Against State Pension Inequality – “lost opportunities to make informed decisions about their finances”.
But the ombudsman fears the DWP will not follow its recommendations on compensation as so far it has “clearly indicated it will refuse to comply”.
Baroness Altmann, a Tory former pensions minister, said: “A cross-party remedy is needed and needed quickly. These women have waited long enough.”
Waspi women are owed thousands in compensation, according to a watchdog (Image: Getty)
Waspi chairwoman Angela Madden called for a “proper compensation package”.
She said: “The report at least finds that level four compensation is required, but politicians across party lines have previously supported level six – which would far more clearly and reasonably recognises the injustice and loss of opportunities suffered.
“We are now looking to those who have supported us over the years to put their money where their mouth is and back us on a proper compensation package. All the parties are now in the spotlight with Waspi women watching and waiting to see how they should best use their votes in the coming general election.”
The state pension eligibility age is currently 66 for men and women but for many decades men retired at 65 and women at the age of 60.
The 1995 Pensions Act raised the state pension age to 66 for women born on or after April 6 1950.
Reforms in 2010 speeded up the changes by another two years to 2018.
Women affected by the reforms complained that DWP failed to provide accurate, adequate and timely information about areas of state pension reform.
Silver Voices director Dennis Reed said: “The ombudsman has found unequivocally in their favour but the levels of compensation suggested are well below the losses incurred by many of the Waspi women.
“The apparent refusal of the DWP to comply with the judgement is inexcusable and Parliament must intervene quickly to enforce it.
“We don’t want another Post Office saga where compensation discussions go on for so long that many victims die in the meantime.”
The ombudsman recommended payments ranging from £1,000 to £2,950 to the women affected.
Its report said compensating the more than three million women born in the 1950s would involve spending between around £3.5 billion and £10.5 billion of public funds, but added “we understand not all of them will have suffered injustice”.
Ex-pension minister Sir Steve Webb says urgent solution is needed in compensation row
Kay Clarke, founder of 1950sWOW (women of Wales) and beyond, said: “This government must now come clean, do the right thing by its citizens and pay back a meaningful amount for the damage done to the people who trusted them to govern this land fairly and with honour.
“Because what has been announced today is completely without honour and I feel ashamed to call this my homeland!
“We have been discriminated against, ignored, rebuffed and robbed.”
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said Waspi women were “wronged and deserve justice.
She told the government it should pay up “however financially challenging” it may be.
She added: “Now that the Ombudsman has finally concluded that mistakes were made and that the Waspi women were wronged, the Government should get on with swiftly implementing his recommendations and fairly compensating all those impacted who are still alive – for some sadly it is already too late.
“It is astonishing that the ombudsman is saying that he does not expect the Department for Work and Pensions to act on his report and is calling on Parliament to intervene. The Waspi women have waited for far too long already and it is unjust for their redress to be delayed any longer.”
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown: “It’s important to say DWP is not legally obliged to carry out these recommendations and the ombudsman expects it to be highly resistant to doing so.
“This is why it is taking the extraordinary action of asking Parliament to intervene and identify a way to provide compensation.
“It’s likely we will see this saga continue to rumble on. Its recommendations could see women compensated up to £2,950 which is a decent amount but far lower than some of the sums reported. With this in mind it is likely that many affected women will continue to feel short changed.”
Downing Street said the government will “now consider the ombudsman’s report and respond to their recommendations formally in due course”.
