The world of work seems to have been a very different place for the 1950s-born women hit by the historic state pension age changes, compared to how it is for my generation.
I've interviewed a number of women affected by the changes over the years, with many explaining that despite working from the age of 15, expectations and options were very different to the modern day, which would go on to affect financial milestones.
Take homeownership. It was as late as the 1970s that women could get a mortgage in their own right.
For 1950s-born women, the expectation was often that they would work part-time once they had children, a campaigner told me.
She remembers being advised to go into teaching so "you'll have the school holidays to look after the children".
"The same women who were overlooked for promotion because they might leave to have children, were also at the front of the queue for redundancy during recessions, and are overlooked now at 60+ when they find they must return to work to fund the extra years of their lost state pension," the WASPI campaigner told me in 2021.
While the state pension is something very few of my peers are factoring into their retirement planning these days, I believe it was a significant part of the plan for many 1950s-born women in the past.
Have you been impacted by historic changes to the state pension age? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.
WASPI has always been clear that they do not oppose state pension age equalisation (the women's state pension age increased from 60 to 65 to be in line with men, then 66 for both sexes ahead of further increases) but they argue the way the changes were brought in, with "a lack of appropriate notification", was unfair.
Thankfully, we've come a long way over the past 50 years, and although the gender pay gap and gender pension gap still exist, I think it's right we now have state pension age equalisation.
I do think the women affected by the way in which the changes were brought in were unfairly disadvantaged, however.
The longer people have to plan for their retirement, the easier it is, yet many say they only had a few years' notice about the changes, while others say they never received a letter at all.
By the time many of these women realised their state pension age had changed, they had already left the workforce, with little route back, leaving them facing several years of relying on their savings meant for retirement.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has ruled in their favour this week, finding the DWP failed to "adequately" communicate changes to the women's state pension age, and the department should pay compensation.
The PHSO said thousands of women may have been affected but warned the DWP has "clearly indicated that it will refuse to comply" with the compensation recommendation.
I think the Government needs to do the right thing and sort this out sharpish.
The goalposts were changed and thousands of the women affected had no idea until it was far too late.
PHSO Chief Executive Rebecca Hilsenrath, said: “Complainants should not have to wait and see whether DWP will take action to rectify its failings.
"Given the significant concerns we have that it will fail to act on our findings and given the need to make things right for the affected women as soon as possible, we have proactively asked Parliament to intervene and hold the Department to account.
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The WASPI campaign doesn't oppose state pension age equalisation but argues against the way changes were brought in
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“Parliament now needs to act swiftly, and make sure a compensation scheme is established. We think this will provide women with the quickest route to remedy."
A DWP spokesperson this week said: "We will consider the Ombudsman’s report and respond in due course, having cooperated fully throughout this investigation.
“The government has always been committed to supporting all pensioners in a sustainable way that gives them a dignified retirement whilst also being fair to them and taxpayers.
“The state pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so as we deliver a further 8.5 per cent rise in April which will increase the state pension for 12 million pensioners by £900.”
