WASPIs - Not going away in 2018

When a small contingent of Chorley WASPI supporters met with our local MP in March 2017, whilst fully supportive of our cause, he warned us that nothing would happen to resolve our issues unless there was a General Election and that was, according to Mrs Maybe, not on the cards. A bleak, but not disparaging opinion from the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle MP and I don't think even he could have have imagined just how soon the GE2017 snap election would occur, if at all!

Why a General Election? Because he was of the opinion that for Mrs Mayhem and her cronies, my words, not his, a declaration by them of support for the WASPI ladies could be a potential vote winner and may well be a significant part of the Tory manifesto. To date, so far as I am aware, this has not been the case and we are still being ignored by the majority of Tory MPs.

On the other hand, however, the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn MP, has publicly stated that, Labour will listen to our voices and make every effort to help us to win back what is rightfully ours - our pensions.

As it happened, Labour did not win the GE2017,  not least because of the deliberate twisting of words by the establishment controlled media, who sought  to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of those of lesser intelligence with a view to swaying them into tactical voting, or into bringing back the worst Conservative government for generations. This has led to more austerity, more cuts to public services, a death knell for the NHS, the rise of a brutal regime and many, many deaths of innocent people in our country, young and old.

Are we living in a Democracy or a Dictatorship? I, for one, for the first time in my life, voted Labour because I sincerely believed, and still do, that they can redress the balance and bring about a fairer society.

But, the worst case scenario played out and the Tories remained in power.  Where does that  leave the WASPI women in 2018?

Assuming that there is nothing on the table for us and they still won't listen to us, then we will have to see them in Court. Bindmans, our lawyers, are preparing a case against the Department for Work and Pension (DWP) for maladministration over their failure to notify us of changes to our State Pension Age. They have a good case, but will need our help to achieve a satisfactory outcome and the most important elements in any court situation are evidence and money. Without evidence there is no case to defend and without money there can be no trial.

WASPI ladies have been portrayed by certain parts of the media as greedy, money grabbing, banner raising, flag waving old ladies with nothing better to do, but that is far from true. There are 3.8 million of us and some of us have been quietly playing our part and gathering the very important evidence that will help Bindmans fight a successful case.

But....and there is a BUT....I don't believe that ANY government will be in a position to replace our stolen pensions in full and hand it to us on a silver platter! It would cost too much and even we WASPIs are supportive of equalisation with men for our State Pension Age. 

My best guess it that IF any arrangements are agreed in principal then it will not be a "free for all" solution. It could be a case of "first come..first served". There will probably be restrictions and qualifications for everyone and it will be up to us to make individual claims for compensation. We will need to prove that we are deserving of any money we are claiming and that we have taken reasonable steps to highlight our individual circumstances and attempted to seek resolution ourselves, which brings me back to "evidence". We will need to show evidence of individually pro-actively seeking redress.

This is why it is important that ALL women affected by the changes in legislation who wish to be adequately compensated should as of now be writing to the DWP, stating their cases and requesting the same. I really do think that it will be a case of "if you don't ask, you won't receive".

This is why the WASPI movement is so important. The WASPI website at waspi.co.uk has a wealth of information and guidance that is publicly available on how best to approach the DWP with template letters that anyone with access to a computer can do for themselves.

It can be soul-destroying and disheartening to feel that you are trying to take on the world by yourself. This is why joining WASPI and becoming a member of your local group is so important. We are here to help you take on the establishment by giving you guidance and practical assistance in preparing your letters which, after all, could be the key to unlocking your individual pensions, or part of, sooner rather than later.

Also, by signing up as a paid up member of WASPI, even if you do nothing else, your money will help to pay for the Court action.

Please don't wait for other people to do what you know you should do for yourself. Don't sit back and expect positive results without being prepared to take personal action. JOIN US and be part of our campaign. Make new friends and gain the support you need to secure your future. Join us at  http://waspi.co.uk/membership and find your local WASPI Group by searching the Directory which is available at http://waspi.co.uk/local-groups 

   

    

Photo credits: Reportuk.org, Enprotothema.gr, Article.wn.com, BoltonLabourHultonWard.co.uk

WASPI's Swarm on Westminster in Protest

The 8th March 2017, also International Women's Day,  was the scene of a mass protest by 1950's WASPI women, some with their partners, against the Government's point blank refusal to hear our calls for fair transitional arrangements to compensate us all for our losses of up to £48,000 of stolen state pensions.

I  was delighted to be there along with so many others of the "sisterhood" and especially pleased that so many of us were able to travel down from Scotland and the North of England as well as those from as far south as Devon and Cornwall.

Our small group of ladies from Chorley, Lancashire were among the first arrivals in Old Palace Yard and already the atmosphere was truly buzzing as we started chanting "We paid in..you pay out" and "Hey, hey, Theresa May...how many women have you robbed today", enabled by our whistles, clackers, drums, pans and tambourines to make as much noise as possible. Horns were sounded, to roaring applause, by sympathetic truck and van drivers, and no-one could doubt that we were heard! The Welsh contingent then arrived en mass waiving their patriotic flag, to rapturous applause and, I kid you not, I don't think there was a 
dry eye in the crowd.

  


It was, truly, an outstandingly emotional event, as more and more throngs of purple-clad women arrived and joined the group! 

Our Twitter hero, Peter Stefanovich, gave a rousing speech, along with the Unison boss Dave Prentis, who promised massive support for our cause, and shortly after the budget reading I spotted Lord Paddy Ashdown merging with the crowd followed very soon after by the wonderful Dennis Skinner MP. 

I am assured that many more MP's came down to speak to the ladies in the square to offer their assurances of support and the only disappointment was that the media, for reasons unknown, were not allowed to cover our demonstration.

Not to be outdone though, some of us persevered and eventually one of the reporters from Russia Today, came over and did a short video interview. I want to add a big thank you to Mr Afshin Rattansi and Russia Today for their willingness to listen to us. Shame on you LBC and especially BBC1 who left it to BBC Wales to do the reporting! The video is at the bottom of this report.

Shortly after this many of us joined the long queue at St Stephen's Gate to get access the Commons Lobby from where we went on to meet with our local MP's. In our case it was Deputy Speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle, who has always been very supportive of the Waspis. It's a shame he doesn't have a voice in the Commons but he has promised to help us in any way he can. 

Mike Gaskell, Lindsay's Parliamentary Press Secretary, very kindly obtained some tickets for us to visit the gallery of the Chamber and we spent an enjoyable half hour watching the Proceedings before finally setting off, extremely tired, but joyously happy, back to Euston for the two hour journey home.

All in all, a great day! New friendships were created and I for one am looking forward to many more and like all of you will not give up the fight for our rights.     

WE PAID IN...YOU PAY OUT!!!

                                                

                         Russia Today with the Waspi's

Here's my own short video - proof that the Waspi's were making lots of noise!

    

Waspi Dilemma - To Eat or to Heat

WASPI Dilemma – To Heat Or To Eat?

Wouldn't it be better to have your cake..AND Heat it?

Now that we've finally said “goodbye” to that “Annus Horribilis” of 2016 it's time to contemplate 2017 and beyond.

Many WASPI women, and some men, are facing still more challenges and uncertainty from suddenly finding themselves “pensionless pensioners” and faced with no jobs, no income and having to stand in line with everyone else at the Jobcentre to claim handouts, which, under this increasingly murderous Tory government, they might never receive.

We can only continue to spread the word about the evil and unjust way we have been robbed by the DWP and continue to fight for a fair outcome – at the very least an interim series of, possibly reduced, payments until we finally reach our designated State Pension Age.

I am one of you. Like many of you I will have to wait 6 years for my state pension and was never officially informed of the fact other than the odd whisper in the media from which I caught on to the fact that I would probably have to wait until I was 66.

However, I consider myself to be one of the luckier ones. I have a part-time job AND I am also self-employed, and both of these jobs enable me to spend a lot of hours at home doing things I love to do. I am a widow of four years and don't have any grand-children like many of you, but if I did, I'm sure I would want to spend time with them and thankfully both my parents are alive and in reasonably good health, so I have not yet been called upon to be a full-time carer for either of them, which, of course, I would do in a flash and even with all that extra time drain, I would still be able to keep both my jobs and my quality time at home.

My own health is reasonable but up and down. Sometimes it takes supreme effort to get out of bed in the morning, mainly due to the pains in my back and legs and I am also diabetic, but I try to keep going because I know that if I give in, as I am tempted to do many times, I will probably end up a bored and lonely old woman with no-one to talk to and no reason to do anything at all.

So, it is with all the above in mind that I have decided that 2017 is the year in which I will really try to get involved in the WASPI campaign and also reach out to my fellow WASPIs with a message that all is not lost!

Many of you have said that you feel that your lives have come down to an everyday choice of whether to eat, or heat your home because that's what it has become. You may have a “job” that you were hoping to leave but can't because if you did you would be heading for destitution. Or, worse still, you don't have a job and feel embarassed and humiliated going to the Jobcentre to sign on for your £70 a week, which we all know just isn't enough to live on no matter how frugally you try to live.

So, how can you have your cake...and heat it? Well, sadly, there is no easy answer because it really depends on your individual circumstances and I can't answer that question for you but I can point you in the right direction. It's called Working Tax Credit and one of the things that the Tory government actually got right!

Unfortunately, they don't go out of their way to teach people how to use it and the benefits are hidden away as part of their agenda to get everyone into “work” so that they can claim credit for reducing the unemployment figures. It is simply referred to as an “in work benefit” and we therefore assume it is only for those with paying jobs. It isn't!

You don't even have to have an income to claim Working Tax Credit. This is because it is based on the amount of hours you “work”, not how much you are paid for that work.

Let me explain how this works for me. I have a paid job and I am self-employed. My paid job is actually a “zero hours contract” which, for me, is great! I can work when I want to, mainly from home and I get paid either on actual hours worked or a commission on sales, whichever is the greater at the end of every month. Trust me, this is a genuine job with a recognised wine company and my title is “Wine Adviser”. I make some of my own appointments from home and the company provide some too and I can potentially earn as little, or as much, as I want to. All I then have to do is visit my customers and sell them wine. If they buy, great, I earn commission. If they don't I get paid a considerably reduced, but legal, hourly rate.

So, because I am only working an average of 15 hours a week at this I don't earn a lot from it but it's enough to pay my everyday bills. In addition to this, because my income is quite low, I can claim housing benefit and council tax credits.

I am also self-employed and this takes me well over the required hours for a 60 year old of 16 hours per week. My self-employment is made up of a number of activities, none of which are particularly strenuous but all of which are very enjoyable. Along with my business partner who is 70 and claiming his state pension, we run MiTeamShirts, a t-shirt printing and personalised goods business which operates from his home, is mainly internet based and generates a reasonable turnover with growth potential, but with small taxable profits.

I also have an Ebay shop, from which I sell, at a reasonable mark-up, goods like collectibles that I pick up from auctions and charity shops. It's great fun, gets me out of the house and is currently ticking over nicely.

There are a couple of other income streams I have which anyone can do that I am developing but the most important thing about all of these is that I love doing them, and they allow me to claim Working Tax Credits in addition and in total give me an income not far short of what I would be receiving from the State Pension.....Roll on SPA!!

So, I'm doing okay and grateful for everything I've got but the important message here is that provided you are over 60 and working (employed or self-employed) at least 16 hours a week, you could probably claim Working Tax Credit too!

If you have an Ebay shop, or similar, that is registered as a business, and you notify the tax authorities within one year of starting up, then you are self-employed!

Make it a habit to attend one auction a week for 8 hours and then spend another 8 hours at home listing your items and shipping them out when you sell them and you could potentially qualify for Working Tax Credits. (I stress potentially because it really depends on how much actual income you already have coming in but as a rough guide it could be up to £19,000 a year including pension income).

So please take heart from this ladies and gentlemen – all is not lost! Check out the link below to go to the Money Advice Service for more information on Working Tax Credit. Money Advice Service

Please also visit the Government's own Working Tax Credit Calculator here Tax Credits Calculator

If you are interested in discovering other routes to self-employment and working from home contact me on Twitter or email me chris011056@gmail.com and I will do my best to help.

Chrissie Fuller

January 2017

Chrissie Fuller is a WASPI member, with previous experience as an Independent Financial Adviser.