Last week in Parliament, St Albans MP Anne Main met with representatives of the WASPI group (Women Against State Pension Inequality) after defeat at a landmark High Court ruling.

WASPI is a campaign group fighting on behalf of 3.8 million women, born in the 1950s, who were impacted by deviations to their State Pension age, which were raised from 60 to 65 in the Acts of Parliament of 1995 and 2011.

The shift in state pension age was ruled not to be discriminatory by the High Court on 3 October. WASPI campaigners told Mrs Main that they planned to fight on despite losing the key court ruling.

On 17 October, Anne Main spoke on behalf of WASPI women in the House of Commons. Anne said that the change in pension age had caused “big problems” for an entire generation of women and argued it was unfair that women in their sixties were expected to re-join the work force.

Some women affected had less than one year’s notice to financially prepare for the change and many received no communication prior to the announcement.

Mrs Main has met with WASPI campaigners from St Albans on a number of occasions and will continue to follow their campaign closely.

Anne said:

“I have 4,000 women in my constituency who are affected by this issue, many of whom have received little to no help in preparing for a six-year change in the pension age. It cannot be right that these women, who have worked hard all their lives and cared for others, are now unable to enjoy the retirement they had planned for.

“There is a disproportionate burden on women born in the 1950s who have contributed so much to society but now find themselves facing serious hardship as a result of this decision. I will continue to lobby for justice on this issue and await the conclusion of WASPI’s maladministration complaints with the DWP and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.”

Photo: Anne pictured during her meeting with a WASPI women representative in Parliament.