A new plan calling for the Basic Basic State Pension weekly payment rate to match the New State Pension is quickly gathering momentum online.
The latest figures show there are now 12.6m people receiving State Pension payments across the UK. Of this number, some 9.7m people are in receipt of Basic State Pension - up to £141.85 per week, rising to up to £156.20 in April.
In comparison, the 2.9m people receiving the New State Pension receive up to £185.15 each week, rising to £203.85 in April.
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And despite a record-breaking rise in payments of the contributory benefit, it is estimated that over 1.8million pensioners are receiving less than £100 per week in State Pension payments, the Daily Record reports.
According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the annual State Pension bill for 2022/23 is £110billion and is estimated to increase to around £148billion by 2027/28.
An online petition entitled "Increase the basic State Pension to match the new State Pension" was created by George Woods and posted on the official petitions-parliament website where it has already received thousands of signatures of support. If it reaches the 10,000 signature threshold, the UK Government will respond to the proposal.
Mr Woods’ petition reads: “I get the old State Pension which is substantially lower than the new State Pension. I want the Government to increase the Basic State Pension to match the new State Pension, so everyone receives the same State Pension. It is not fair that some pensioners are treated like second class citizens.”
He added: “Only men born on or after April 6, 1951, and women born on or after April 6, 1953, are eligible for the new State Pension, which is paid at a higher rate.” The petition is open until August 23, 2023, and can be found online here.
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