Women's State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues
Investigation into DWP's communication of state pension age changes to women born in the 1950s. Found maladministration in a 28-month delay in writing to affected women. Laid before Parliament under s10(3) because PHSO anticipated DWP would not comply. Government rejected compensation recommendations twice (Dec 2024, Jan 2026) but accepted the apology and some service improvements.
Government response
Recommendations
We would have recommended DWP acknowledges the maladministration we have found and apologises for the impact it has had on complainants and others similarly affected.
We have explained our thinking about where on our severity of injustice scale the sample complainants' injustice sits. We would have recommended they are paid compensation at level 4 of the scale.
Our Principles for Remedy say public bodies should offer remedies, where appropriate, to others who have suffered injustice as a result of the same maladministration. We would have recommended DWP provides a remedy for others who have suffered injustice because of the maladministration we have identified.
We did not find that the sample complainants suffered an unremedied injustice because of maladministration in DWP's communication about the number of National Insurance qualifying years needed for a full State Pension. But it is possible others have lost opportunities to add qualifying years to their National Insurance record. We would have recommended DWP provides remedy in line with our severity of injustice scale for anyone who can show they lost opportunities to add to their National Insurance record.
Given what our Principles, DWP's own guidance and HM Treasury's guidance say, Parliament may want to take steps to make sure DWP is held to account to demonstrate continuous improvement in the service it provides.