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A 65-year-old grandmother who works as a children’s entertainer is seeking compensation of at least £10,000 for all women who have suffered financial loss due to the change in the state pension age.
Karen Woodward, 65, is one of the 3.8 million Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequalities) born in the 1950s who have been affected by this change.
Woodward, who suffers from severe arthritis and uses a mobility scooter, only learned at age 58 that he would not receive his state pension until age 66, rather than 60 as he had expected.
This means she cannot afford to retire and has to continue working despite various health conditions.
she said I The watchdog says the £3,000 compensation it has proposed for all the women affected is not enough and that a fairer amount would be £10,000.
“I would have lost about £47,000 compared to if I had been able to retire at 60 as I should have,” she said.
“There’s no way we can expect to get that full amount back in compensation because that’s not realistic. But £3,000 seems like a drop in the ocean.
“I was expecting around £10,000 and felt that was an appropriate and realistic amount for each woman affected.
“But I also think we need to be realistic about how much the country can afford. If I was offered £3,000, I’d rather get poked in the eye with a sharp stick. However, a fairer remuneration would be a figure of at least £10,000.”
Ms Woodward, who lives in Dorset with her husband Keith, said a chance conversation with a friend when she was 58 made her realize she needed to work until she was 66, rather than retiring at 60.
A self-employed children’s entertainer, she has no choice but to continue working as a children’s entertainer despite being in constant pain and barely being able to walk in order to earn an income to maintain a decent quality of life. He said he had no choice.
She eventually modified her mobility scooter to perform magic tricks and entertainment.
“Quiting my job wasn’t really an option because I didn’t want to start a fire or be in a situation where I couldn’t afford to eat properly,” she said. I.
“So I’ve had to adapt and work through the pain. Even if you’re having a really bad night in terms of pain, you have to put on a brave face and keep smiling when entertaining people. .
“I have eight months until December 29th when I can finally retire, and I can’t wait because I’m completely done.”
Ms Woodward strongly believes that all Waspi women should be given the same amount of compensation and opposes the idea that they have to prove how much they have been affected. .
“I don’t like the idea of women having to sue and prove how much they’ve suffered as a result of the pension age change, because it would be very difficult to prove.” I feel like we’re trying to justify something that isn’t our fault.
“It also lengthens the entire process significantly while we discuss how to manage it.
“I think the fairest way is to set a uniform compensation price for each person who has been harmed.”
Mr Woodward also slammed Waspi’s entire attitude towards the campaign as “totally sexist” and believed that if the person affected had been a man, the issue would have been addressed and resolved sooner. ing.
“I don’t want this to be a man bashing, but I think it was sexist. If it were men who were affected by this pension age change, the whole issue would be handled differently. I think it would have been dealt with more quickly.”
“I feel like we’ve been treated like second-class citizens in a way. Because we’re women, when this issue was first discussed, they thought we’d roll over and solve the problem.” I think they were hopeful and thought the problem would be resolved.”
“Some men said to me, “Women wanted equality, and this is what we got.” What I am against is the method.
“If I had known that information in 1995 when this issue was first mentioned, I would have had time to at least prepare and establish some sort of savings fund for my retirement. This is what we are fighting for because we were not receiving information.”
Waspi women are now calling on MPs to vote on reparations, and the campaign group has written an open letter to House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt to urgently secure time to vote on the issue. I requested the Minister to do so.