Waspi Voice, a faction of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for women caught out by the rise in the state pension age.
Describing itself as the "reasonable arm" of the Waspi movement, Waspi Voice stated the new campaign, dubbed "Save Our Sisters" (SOS), aimed to raise £10,000 over one month.
The money will be set aside for women "at or reaching crisis point", whose struggle had met the "blind eye and a deaf ear" of government.
The fundraising will take place vie crowdfunding website Just Giving, at the address www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sos-waspivoice
Lin Phillips, co-founder of both the original Waspi campaign and of Waspi Voice, said "more and more" women were finding it impossible to make ends meet as a result of the government's decision to raise the state pension age for women born in the 1950s from 60 to as high as 66.
"These women are experiencing hardship that you would not believe possible in the world’s fifth richest economy," she said.
"They are going cold and hungry; they live in a constant state of fear and anxiety. Their pride and dignity are being eroded by inappropriate JSA and ESA procedures - and to retain what is left of their dignity they often will not tell family and friends of their plight."
She said lack of awareness of the changes to state pension age meant women had not had time to prepare to cover costs as high as £40,000.
Ms Philips' colleague Tina Scriven said the government had turned a "blind eye and deaf ear" to the women's grievances, forcing the campaign to turn to the "British people".
"We know that WASPI women, even though they’re all having to watch the pennies, will respond, as will MPs and our friends in the House of Lords," Ms Scriven said.
"We can’t give 1950s women what they deserve – the pension they worked for all their lives – but we can give help and hope, and try to rescue the ones who are in a dark and lonely place right now."
After an initial early concession, the current government has refused to back down on the issue, despite the high media profile of the Waspi campaign. Last week pensions minister Richard Harrington reaffirmed the government's position.
The Labour Party and the Scottish National Party, on the other hand, have said they would seek to address the campaign's grievances were they to win power.
However, the government is under no obligation to call an election until 2020, and by that time a large chunk of those affected will have reached the new state pension age anyway.
In August, the original Waspi campaign split into two new groups following disagreements over what they were asking for. The more moderate group formed Waspi Voice, while the more radical group commandeered the "Waspi" title in what the former group described a "military-style coup".
The more hardline Waspi faction is currently taking legal advice on whether it can make a legal challenge against the government's changes to the state pension age, crowdfunding more than £100,000 for the purpose.
james.fernyhough@ft.com
