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Labour will offer pay-outs of up to £31,000, with
an average payment of £15,000, to compensate women hit by the
Tories’ state pension rise.
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The Shadow Chancellor, , said the pay-outs were a
“historic debt of honour” to the women.
Pay-outs of up to £31,000 will be made, with an average
payment of £15,000, Shadow Chancellor, , announced.
The scheme will be delivered within Labour's first full
five year term of government. Payments will go to women born in
the 1950s who had their state pension age hiked.
McDonnell said the pay-outs were a "historic debt of
honour" to the women.
David Cameron's coalition government presided over a change
in the law that increased the women's state pension age to 65 in
November 2018 - followed by 66 in October 2020.
Labour would introduce a compensation scheme for the
3.7million women hit by the changes, which Cameron's Tory-Lib Dem
government imposed in 2011.
It comes after u-turned on Friday on his
pledge to help those affected.
, Leader of the , said:
“This week, dismissed the concerns of a
woman who has lost out on her pension, telling her it’s “not
possible” to right the huge wrong she and so many others have
suffered. This is about consideration for those who have paid
into the system all their lives and made this country what it is,
only to be hung out to dry by a government that puts the
interests of the richest first.
“The next Labour government will compensate women who were
unfairly hit by the rise in the state pension age and give them
the respect they deserve.
The powerful and wealthy want you to believe that real
change is impossible, that it’s not realistic.
But it is possible with Labour. Because Labour is not on
the side of the billionaires and the bankers, we are on the side
of the people."
, the Shadow
Chancellor, said:
"We've prepared a scheme to compensate these women for a
historical wrong.
"It's one that they were not been able to prepare for and
for which they've had to suffer serious financial consequences
for as a result.
"Some of them have been hit by a combination of poverty and
stress, having lost out on what they had contributed
towards.
"These changes were imposed upon them by a Tory-led
government.
"So we have a historical debt of honour to them and when go
into government we are going to fulfil that
debt.”
added:
"We will introduce it as rapidly as we practically can and
we will try to ensure the payments are made promptly.
"It's a five year scheme and they will get their redress
over that five year period.
"This is a basic principle of justice that we have to
adhere to as a government and we are hoping that people will
appreciate the sense of injustice and anger that these women feel
about the changes that were imposed upon them.”
[Ends]
Notes to editors:
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The amount paid for each 'lost week' would depend on the
year of birth: women born between 6 April 1950 and 6 April 1960
would be paid some redress: £100pw up to 5 April 1955 and
tapered down for those born after 5 April 1955.
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On that basis, the individual redress payments would vary
between nil and £31,300, with an average payment of
£15,380.
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The total cost of such a proposal is estimated to be £58
billion before tax, but it could be paid in
instalments, e.g. £11.5 billion per annum, if
paid over 5 years.
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The compensation scheme is a one-off
historical redress for a historical wrong, so the state will be
expected to find the money, just as it would do if the
Government lost a court case, rather than a policy
decision.
-
backed down on his previous
promise during the Conservative leadership election to “to
doing everything I possibly can to sorting out” the
issue: https://www.express.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/1208181/state-pension-age-boris-johnson-waspi-women-latest-news.
