Over 35,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Department for Work and Pensions to increase State Pension payments to £19,760 per year, the equivalent to £380 each week.
On April 11, the DWP increased State Pension payments by 3.1%. This meant the basic State Pension increased £141.85 per week from £137.60 and the full State Pension to £185.15 from £179.60
However, the latest petition that has gained a substantial amount of support, suggests State Pension payments should come into line with the National Living Wage. This comes as the cost of living crisis, heightened by soaring energy bills, is putting additional pressure on household finances, reports the Daily Record.
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The ‘Increase the State Pension to £19,760 a year (£380 a week)’ petition, which was created last month by Stephen Edward Wyatt and posted on the petition-parliament website, has now gathered more than 36,000 signatures of support - enough to trigger an official response from the UK Government.
At 100,000 signatures, this petition would also be considered for debate in Parliament. The petition reads: “The [UK] Government should raise the State Pension to match the yearly equivalent of the National Living Wage (NLW).
“The NLW is rising to £9.50 an hour (i.e. £19,760 a year for F/T 40h per week), which we are told is needed to live, yet pensioners are expected to live on a state pension of £7,376 a year.”
It continues: “The State Pension is not enough to live on. All people regardless of standing are supposed to be looked on as equal, this is clearly not the case. Most people have paid into the State Pension through National Insurance Contributions during their working life.
“Most pensioners live active lives and have to pay the same bills as others have to find the money for but are expected to do it on less than half the income of those on the National Living Wage, this is unacceptable.”
The petition ends by asking the UK Government to “level up and treat everyone the same, this is the right thing to do”. The petition will close on August 25, 2022 - read it in full here.
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