Lawyers representing women affected by state pension age changes are preparing to formally challenge the government’s repeated refusal to offer compensation. The move comes after women impacted by the way changes to the state pension age were communicated were told for a second time in January that they would not receive financial redress.
Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), a long-standing campaign group, confirmed that its legal team intends to highlight "legal errors" in the government's decision-making. They will issue a 14-day deadline for a response, with campaigners suggesting the dispute could escalate to the High Court.
The group argues that the government's compensation denial is based on a "narrow set of data" regarding public awareness of the pension age adjustments.
A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman previously indicated that compensation ranging between £1,000 and £2,950 per person could be appropriate for those affected by the communication failures.
Angela Madden, Waspi chairwoman, stated: "Women affected by the Government’s failures have waited long enough. If ministers will not listen to the independent ombudsman, their own MPs and millions of people across the country, we will make them listen in court."
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) responded: "The Secretary of State set out the Government’s position in his oral statement to Parliament, including acceptance of maladministration and apology to the women affected. Our focus now is on delivering an action plan to implement lessons learned in how DWP communicates state pension matters going forward."
In November 2025, it was reported that the government would re-examine its decision not to award compensation to up to 3.8 million women affected by changes to the state pension age, following the emergence of new evidence.
Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden informed the Commons that ministers would reconsider the refusal of compensation for women born in the 1950s, whose state pension age was raised to align with men’s.
He stated that "evidence" not presented to his predecessor, Liz Kendall, has come to light since the decision was made last December. Labour had previously faced criticism for rejecting compensation, despite a recommendation from the PHSO.
