State pension age for women controversially increased from 60 to 65 in alignment with men. After further increases, it now stands at 66 for both sexes.
However, some women have expressed their frustration about this, arguing they were not provided with sufficient notice.
The changes have specifically impacted a group commonly known as 1950s women, who have mobilised to draw attention to the issue.
Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) have fought to have their experiences formally recognised.
Now, there could be a potentially important shift in the investigation into the matter.
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If the PHSO does find “injustice” which has not already been remedied, the third stage will be making recommendations to put things right.
In some occasions, this may involve suggesting compensation is paid to individuals who have been impacted.
The All Party Parliamentary Group on state pension inequality for women, recently submitted a statement to the PHSO.
It said: “The PHSO must act, and it must act robustly.”
The APPG has said 1950s born women have experienced a Level 6 injustice, described by the PHSO as the “most serious”.
This refers to the Severity of Injustice scale used by the PHSO when deciding what recommendations to make.
According to its sliding scale, Level 6 could mean compensation of £10,000 or more.
The APPG’s report appears to have been welcomed, with WASPI campaign director Debbie De Spon tweeting: “The APPG found what WASPI campaign women have known all along in its submission to the Ombudsman.”
However, the PHSO is yet to decide what compensation, if any, will be granted to those impacted by state pension age changes.
It is not yet possible for the PHSO to say how long it will take for its investigation to reach a conclusion.
A DWP spokesperson previously told Express.co.uk of the initial PHSO decision: “Both the High Court and Court of Appeal have supported the actions of the DWP, under successive governments dating back to 1995, and the Supreme Court refused the claimants permission to appeal.
“In a move towards gender equality, it was decided more than 25 years ago to make the state pension age the same for men and women.”
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