DWP slammed for pension failing again after WASPI scandal

DWP Faces Backlash Over Pension Mismanagement Following WASPI Scandal

The DWP is under fire again for failing to communicate pension changes effectively, impacting thousands of pensioners.

Politics

DWP, Pension, WASPI, Adrian Furnival, UK, Brittany

London: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is in hot water again. They’ve been criticized for their poor communication, especially after the WASPI pension changes. It seems like they just can’t get it right.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, didn’t hold back. She pointed out that the DWP is “failing to learn from its mistakes.” One case she highlighted was a pensioner who didn’t find out for eight years that his payments had changed, leaving him £3,000 worse off each year.

She’s urging over 10,000 pensioners affected by this mess to reach out to the DWP. Back in December, the DWP admitted they messed up in how they communicated changes to the state pension age for women born in the 1950s. Many of these women were part of the WASPI campaign for justice.

While the DWP apologized, they didn’t agree to compensate those affected. Liz Kendall, the secretary, said the £10.5 billion cost of full compensation wasn’t fair since most women were aware of the age increase.

Adrian Furnival, 82, shared his story. He found out in 2018 that he would lose a payment that would leave him over £250 short each month. He and his wife have been living in Brittany since 1994, and this news hit them hard.

Interestingly, people in the UK were informed about this payment change back in 2010. The Ombudsman found that the DWP should have told Adrian about it back then. Now, she’s recommending they apologize and pay him £675 for the trouble.

Adrian expressed his frustration, saying, “It came as a shock to me. They could have told us at any point from 2010 onwards.” He wishes he had more time to prepare for the financial hit.

He added, “If they had informed us sooner, we could have planned better. By 2018, we had no way to replace that income.” After a long struggle with the DWP, he even had to involve his MP and the Ombudsman to get answers.

The DWP has been asked for a comment, but it seems like they have a lot to sort out.

Image Credits and Reference: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dwp-state-pension-communication-waspi-compensation-claim-b2679370.html