The Government may grant compensation to the WASPI generation of state pensioners despite its initial reluctance, a group has said.
Pete Mugleston, MD and money expert at www.onlinemoneyadvisor.co.uk, told Express.co.uk: “The Government’s initial stance suggested a reluctance to comply with the compensation recommendations, citing budgetary constraints and differing interpretations of the law.
“However, public and parliamentary pressure, as well as continued advocacy from groups like WASPI, could influence a change in position.
“We could also see some movement on this in the upcoming election as neither party will want to alienate WASPI pensioners ahead of the vote.”
A recent report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman recommended compensation payments of between £1,000 and £2,950.
But the report also stated that the DWP had previously said that providing remedy “would be inconsistent with good administration or guidance published by HM Treasury (‘Managing Public Money’).”
The department also warned there may need to be primary legislation to provide the compensation.
The news comes after another expert warned that the WASPI campaigners face a difficult task to secure the payouts.
Andrew Gosselin, senior editor at The Calculator Site, said: “The Ombudsman’s report confirmed that they should be paid, but making that happen will be very hard.
“You need to carefully look at each person’s situation, such as how much longer they had to work, any extra costs or debts they racked up, and even any health effects that broke that promise. It needs to be complete and fair.
“I’m not holding my breath, though, for that compensation to show up. From what I’ve seen, the Government takes a very long time to do things like this.”
DWP minister Mel Stride was asked about when a decision may come on providing compensation earlier this week (April 8) but he refused to set out a timetable for making a decision.
He told ITV: “There’ll be no undue delay in us coming forward, but I do want to have sufficient time.
“There are very strong feelings about this on all sides of the argument as to whether conversation should be paid or not. And I do want to make sure that we get that judgment right.”
You can find out how much the WASPI compensation payouts could be in your area using this map tool.
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