GWYNEDD MPs Liz Saville Roberts and Hywel Williams have called on the UK government to deliver a compensation scheme for women wronged by maladministration of their state pension allowance.

Thousands of women in Gwynedd have been affected by the rise in the state pension age, with many given little or no notice and not enough time to make alternative plans, often with devastating consequences.

The MPs have called on a fair and fast financial arrangement for women born in the 1950s, while the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is currently investigating whether failures it identified led to an injustice for the 1950s women – known collectively as WASPI women – Women Against State Pension Inequality.

In a joint statement, the MPs said: “The WASPI women have suffered hugely because of maladministration and failures by the DWP to appropriately inform them of changes to their State Pension Allowance.

“Women across the UK have been hit hard by the changes – to the surprise and dismay of many of them, the plans that they had made have been disrupted.

“Women in Wales are being hit particularly hard by the changes.

“Incomes in Wales are low, so they have already suffered a disproportionate disadvantage.

“There are fewer job opportunities and jobs are more insecure, particularly in some constituencies.

“Despite the clamour of outrage and years of campaigning, the UK Government have refused to support these women who are trapped in difficult financial situations through no fault of their own.

“The UK Government not only have a legal obligation but also a moral obligation to address the hardship caused to the women whose pension plans were cut short.

“If the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman recommends that the WASPI women should be compensated, then the UK Government must act immediately to deliver a fair and fast compensation scheme.”

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