New calls for State Pension weekly payments of £364 for all passes 34,000 signatures despite rejection
31.08.2023 - 08:55
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
More than 34,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the State Pension to be paid to everyone in retirement at the same rate as the National Living Wage, despite an official response rejecting the proposal. According to map data on the petitions-parliament website, 34,062 signatures have now been recorded from every parliamentary constituency across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Petition creator, Joseph Coyle, highlights how the National Living Wage for someone aged 23 or over, working a 35-hour week, is worth £16,919.99 per year after income tax and National Insurance deductions while the full, New State Pension is worth £10,60 for the 2023/24 financial year. The maximum Basic State Pension is worth £8,122 this year.
However, the DWP responded to the proposal on August 21, saying that the State Pension and National Living Wage have “different purposes” and that a “direct comparison cannot be drawn” between them.
The DWP response also said there are “no plans to increase the State Pension to equal 35 hours a week at the National Living Wage”.
The petition proposes making changes that would see 12.6 million pensioners, on the New and Basic State Pension, receive £364.70 each week - equivalent to just under £19,000 a year. And despite the response from the DWP, it could still be debated in Parliament if it reaches 100,000 signatures of support and is selected by the Pensions Committee.
However, the DWP response mentions that there has been no policy change to the State Pension since a similar topic on increasing the weekly amount was debated by MPs in December last year. That petition received over 111,000 signatures of support.
The response on the petitions-parliament website said: “We are