A new petition has launched online, calling on the UK Government to increase the weekly basic State Pension payment rate to £185 - which would match the newest State Pension rate.
This proposal would see those on the basic rate to have their payments raised from £141 per week to £185.15 every seven days. The Daily Record reports that the petition was posted on the petitions-parliament website by user Hilary Durras.
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The statement wants to "Increase the basic State Pension to align with the new State Pension". This petition has received over 1,000 signatures of support, and is due to close at the beginning of November.
At 10,000 signatures, the Government - in particular, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - will be obliged to give an official response to the proposal. However, the DWP has recently rejected a proposal to increase the State Pension to £380 a week for all men and women over the age of 60.
This petition received more than 102,780 signatures alone, and is now being considered for debate in Parliament. Ms Durras states in the petition: “The [UK] Government should increase the basic State Pension to match the new State Pension. I don’t think it’s very fair to have a two tier system, especially when it increases in percentage terms and so gets even further apart.
“The older pensioners have paid in more over their lifetime and have never taken anything out of the system as this option was not available then. This could also cut down on administration staff by no longer having to do means-testing.”
She added: “Also many older people don’t have much in the way of savings as the wages were low and no employer-pension schemes were available.”
The current rates of pay for those on the Old Basic, and Full New State Pension, are as follows:
Old Basic State Pension
You can claim the basic State Pension if you are:
- a man born before April 6, 1951
- a woman born before April 6, 1953
To get the basic State Pension you must have paid or been credited with National Insurance contributions.
Old Basic State Pension rates (weekly)
- Category A or B basic pension: £141.85
- Category B (lower) basic pension - spouse or civil partner’s insurance: £85.00
- Category C or D - non-contributory: £85.00
Full New State Pension
You are able to claim the new State Pension if you are:
- a man born on or after April 6, 1951
- a woman born on or after April 6, 1953
The earliest you can get the new State Pension is when you reach State Pension age - find yours here.
If you reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016, you will get the State Pension under the old rules instead.
New State Pension rates (weekly)
- New State Pension full rate: £185.15
You can view the full petition to raise the State Pension payment rate on the website here.
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