‘My Waspi mum died before getting pension justice – it needs urgent action’

Lisa Walton was furious after she received a letter the day after her mum’s sudden death asking the devastated family to repay the amount of state pension that had been overpaid.

Given that Jennifer Brooks was one of the Waspi women who had to wait an extra six years for her state pension and died unexpectedly after suddenly collapsing only two years after finally receiving it, her daughter feels sending a letter within 24 hours of her death demanding the measly amount back was outrageous.

“It was unbelievable,” Lisa told i. “They made her wait an extra six years for her state pension and then they couldn’t even give us a break over such a small amount when she died by asking for it back straight away.”

Ms Brooks died unexpectedly, aged 68, after suddenly collapsing and is was one of an estimated 3.8 million Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) women affected by major changes to the state pension age.

The 68-year-old who lived in Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea, initially expected she would get her state pension at 60, but when she discovered she would have to wait until 66, she was forced to carry on working as a carer for elderly people to make ends meet – including working while her husband Melvin was dying from mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

The grandmother finally started receiving her state pension at the age of 66, four years after her husband’s death. But in a cruel twist of fate, she only received her pension for two years before suddenly passing away in March this year.

Jennifer Brooks worked as a carer in an old people’s home for 30 years

Just a couple of weeks later on 21 March, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman gave its damning verdict that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was guilty of “maladministration” over the failure to properly notify women born in the 50s that their pension age was increasing from 60 to 65 or 66.

Ms Brooks is far from alone in dying before seeing justice as latest figures show a staggering 283,932 Waspi women have died since 2015 – the year the campaign began.

With around 111 Waspi women dying every day, it is estimated 10,989 Waspi women have died since the ombudsman report was released.

“It’s disgusting how many women have died before seeing justice and how much suffering they and their families have been through,” says Lisa, 46, who is married with three daughters.

“It feels like the Government knows exactly what they are doing and are dragging it out and waiting for most of the Waspi women to die so that when they do eventually offer a compensation package, they will only have to pay out a very minimal amount to the minimum amount of people.”

With one Waspi woman dying every 13 minutes while waiting for justice, Lisa is incensed at the way people like her mum have been treated and says after the general election, the new government urgently needs to make amends for all the damage and heartache.

Lisa Walton with her mum Jennifer and dad Melvin on her wedding day

Ms Brooks, who worked as a carer in an older people’s home for more than 30 years, even had to return to work only two weeks after her husband’s death as she needed the money and had no other source of income.

“My dad had his own sports trophy shop for most of his life and in the latter part of his working life, he did air conditioning,” explains Lisa. “But about 50 years previously, he had worked for a brief spell for a power station and that is when he must have been exposed to asbestos.

“He died only six months after being diagnosed with mesothelioma – before that, he was fit and healthy and never had any illnesses. It had just sat dormant in his system and erupted from a cough. Within six months, despite lots of treatment, he was gone.”

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Melvin died in January 2018 at the age of 72, when his wife was 62. As neither of them had a private pension, Ms Brooks had no choice but to keep working throughout her husband’s illness and after his death.

“My dad was 72 when he died so he was getting his state pension, but my mum wasn’t so she had to keep working as just his state pension wasn’t enough to cover everything,” says Lisa. “Then after he died, she still had to keep working as there was no widow’s allowance or extra support and all she had was her income.

“My parents were renting a housing association property so my mum still had rent and bills to pay after my dad died so had to keep working as they didn’t have savings or any other form of income.

“The ironic thing was if she had been claiming her pension at that point, like she should have been if she had got it at 60, she would have been entitled to help such as pension credits. Instead, she got nothing.”

Ms Brooks, who had two children, three grandchildren and a great-grandchild, also looked after her elderly mother who died two years ago at the age of 99. To juggle work and her caring responsibilities, she cut down her days and worked three 12-hour days.

Lisa says: “My mum was robbed of her pension and died before she got to see justice with the Waspi campaign.

“She only ended up getting her state pension for two years before she died despite paying into it all her life.

“My mum carried on working until she got her state pension and ironically, she was made redundant from the care home the month before she was due to get it. But then she died two years later.

“It is wrong and soul-destroying for the families of all the Waspi women who have lost their lives.”

Jennifer suddenly collapsed on 8 March this year and was taken to hospital where it was discovered she had suffered a heart issue and she went into respiratory arrest. Fluid then went into her lungs, causing her death.

Lisa believes the families of Waspi women who have died before seeing justice should be able to seek compensation in their name.

“At the end of the day, these women are owed compensation because of the failure of the DWP,” she says. “If they have died and haven’t had the opportunity to claim it, I honestly think the next of kin should be able to claim on their behalf to get them justice.

Lisa Walton with her mum Jennifer, dad Melvin and brother Richard

“If people like the tax office and pensions can claim back money after my mum’s death from us, why can’t we claim it in her name?”

She adds: “My mum was part of the Waspi group and she would be pleased that we are making a noise about the campaign after her death as she felt so strongly about it.

“We are determined to keep on fighting and get justice in her name.”

Angela Madden, chair of Waspi told i: “Our thoughts are with Lisa and her family at this difficult time.

“Women such as Jennifer who received little to no communication of changes to their state pension age had no opportunity to prepare, plunging their retirement plans into disarray.

“It has been three months since the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report was published finding Waspi women are due compensation, yet no progress has been made by the two main parties to commit to delivering financial redress.

“Waspi women supported businesses, families, and paid into the national pot. How many more of us have to die until we receive the compensation owed as declared by Parliament’s own watchdog?

“The only remedy is for the next government to bring forward fair and fast compensation proposals within 100 days of the next Parliament.”