A fresh campaign is seeking to skyrocket state pensioners’ annual income to a staggering £30,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). A government website petition is demanding that the State Pension be made available from the age of 60 and be increased to match 48 hours at the National Living Wage rate.
This would see the current weekly sum of £221.20 increase to an impressive £328. Presently, recipients of the new state pension can get up to £884.80 monthly (£11,502.40 annually), while those on the basic state pension take home £678 every four weeks (£8,814 yearly).
Should the proposed changes take effect, individuals aged 60 and above could pocket approximately £28,554.24 annually to help with their living expenses. This would bring all pensioners closer to the UK’s median salary, which is around £37,000 per annum.
The petition declares: “We want the Government to make the State Pension available from the age of 60 and increase this to equal 48 hours a week at the National Living Wage.”
It continues: “Hence from April 2024, a universal State Pension should be £549.12 per week or about £28,554.24 per year as a right to all including expatriates, age 60 and above. We think that Government policy seems intent on the State Pension being a benefit, while increasing the age of entitlement.”
The campaigners are pushing for reforms to ensure the State Pension is accessible from age 60 and tied to the National Living Wage, reports the Manchester Evening News. At present, the petition has amassed over 5,000 signatures.
This initiative follows the DWP’s response to another petition which called for the reversal of cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners.
This year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s announcement of revised eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment means that an estimated 10 million pensioners are likely to miss out. Previously, all individuals over the state pension age were eligible for the Winter Fuel Payments.
However, under the new rules, only those receiving certain means-tested benefits like Pension Credit will qualify. Labour has defended the move to means-test the payment as a necessary measure to tackle a £22 billion deficit blamed on the previous Conservative government.
Despite this, charities have voiced concerns that the change could result in millions of elderly people facing poverty during the winter months. In response to a petition, the DWP wrote: “The Government has no plans to reverse the means testing of the Winter Fuel Payment but is focusing on increasing Pension Credit take-up to ensure all eligible pensioners continue to receive support.
“Given the substantial fiscal pressures this year and next, the Government has had to make difficult decisions to bring the public finances under control. This includes the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment, so it is better targeted to low-income pensioners who need it.
“To ensure Winter Fuel Payments are received by those on the lowest incomes the Government is determined to do everything it can to maximise take-up of Pension Credit which provides a safety net for pensioners on the lowest incomes and opens the door to other benefits including the Winter Fuel Payment.”
