The campaign against women’s state pension ages does not need to be a “poisoned chalice” for the new Pensions Minister, the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign group has said.

The comments follow a tweet by former Pensions Minister Ros Altmann, who said the new Minister will “need to deal with @WASPI_Campaign – the issue won’t go away and is a poisoned chalice for Pensions Minister”.

In response, a Waspi spokesperson said: "The WASPI issue need not be a poisoned chalice for the new pensions minister, as Ros Altmann has suggested. With the right willingness to work directly with WASPI, there is a solution available."

It is expected that the MP for Hexham, Guy Opperman, will replace Richard Harrington has the Pensions Minister. Harrington has moved to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed Opperman has been appointed as a junior minister but is yet to confirm his brief.

During Harrington’s time as Pensions Minister, he was frequently questioned on the issue of women’s pensions. He said in parliament that the government has “no plans” to do anymore as it has already provided £1.1bn in transitional relief. He was also criticised for saying that he could not believe women did not check their state pension age when the initial changes were made in 1995.

Commeting on the appointment of a new Minister, a Waspi spokesperson said:
“The official Waspi campaign is looking forward to working with the new Minister to find a solution to the problems caused by the lack of notice given to 1950s women of changes to their state pension age. We hope to have a meaningful and constructive dialogue around the issues faced."

Share Story: