New State Pension payment options for people due to reach DWP retirement age this year

A scheme worth one billion pounds is being offered by the UK Government to help more than 300,000 families across Great Britain heat their home for less this year. The Great British Insulation Scheme aims to help low income households save up to £400 on their annual fuel bills through new energy efficiency upgrades.

The latest Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures indicate that fraud and error in the benefit system is falling after the UK Government restated its determination to drive levels down further and protect taxpayers’ money. The most-recent national statistics show that in the 2022/23 financial year, fraud and error rates fell to 3.6 per cent (£8.3 billion) from 4.0 per cent (£8.7 billion) - figures for 2023/24 are due to be published next month.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has removed the online claim forms for the 2023/24 Winter Fuel Payment for people living in the UK and retirees living abroad. The closing date for applications for the annual heating bill help was Sunday, March 31 - which means anyone who missed the deadline will not be entitled to up to £600.

An open letter to Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt MP, demanding a debate and vote in Parliament on compensation for Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign, has been signed by more than 156,000 people in just 10 days.

Millions of older people in receipt of the New or Basic State Pension are set for a significant boost this year after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed payments will rise by 8.5 per cent from April 8, 2024. Those with additional State Pension elements or deferred payments, will see an uplift of 6.7 per cent.

New figures published by Social Security Scotland show that there are now 192,575 people in receipt of Adult Disability Payment (ADP). This includes 83,190 new applicants and 109,385 existing Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants who have now transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to the devolved benefits system.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently confirmed that State Pension and benefit payment rates will rise from April 8, 2024. State Pensions will go up by 8.5 per cent, under the Triple Lock, while most working age and disability benefits will increase by the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate of 6.7 per cent.

People living in Scotland are in a unique position as there will be 15 benefits and payments only available for those living north of the border by the end of this year. A pilot rollout of Carer Support Payment is already underway in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and the Western Isles and will gradually replace all new claims for Carer's Allowance, delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

More than 39,500 people have signed an online petition calling for income tax on the State Pension to be scrapped in order to help “reduce the tax burden on pensioners” despite the UK Government rejecting the proposal earlier this year. The petition was created after it was announced in November the Personal Allowance income threshold will remain frozen at £12,570 during the 2024/25 financial year.

Manchester's specialist sexual assault centre has officially opened in a brand new state-of-the-art clinic.

Millions of 1950s-born women who lost out when the State Pension age changed cannot afford to wait much longer for compensation, campaigners said as they acknowledged that for some it was “already too late”. Age UK accused the UK Government of “seemingly endlessly dragging its feet in situations when there have been clear findings of fault”, and compared the situation to concerns around the Windrush Compensation Scheme and the Post Office and Contaminated Blood scandals.

The Work and Pensions Committee has said that uprating of benefits should be guaranteed by the UK Government every year and the Household Support Fund should be made permanent. Committee chairman Sir Stephen Timms said the annual “will they or won’t they speculation” in the run-up to each Budget announcement on whether benefits will rise in line with inflation must end.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced last week that an update on the progress it is making to identify and rectify historical State Pension errors will be published before the end of this month. Pensions Minister Paul Maynard MP said that the report will cover progress made up until the end of February this year.

An online petition urging the UK Government to increase the current Basic State Pension payment rate from £156.20 to £203.85 each week has now passed the 10,000 signature threshold and is entitled to an official written response, most-likely from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that the number of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) at the end of October 2023 rose to an all-time high of nearly 3.5 million - and that figure does not include the 137,490 on Adult Disability Payment (ADP) in Scotland. Some 254,034 people on PIP living in Scotland will have their case transferred automatically to the devolved welfare system by the end of 2025.

More than 45,200 people have signed an online petition calling for a ‘universal’ weekly State Pension payment of nearly £550 in order to match the current hourly rate of the National Living Wage. Petition creator Michael Thompson also suggests making the option to claim State Pension available to everyone from the age of 60.

The chair of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign has indicated that the final report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) into ‘injustice caused by the maladministration’ of changes to the State Pension age, “is set to be released within weeks”.

Around one in five people across the UK are set to receive a massive cash boost from next month, as the new State Pension rates are set to increase by as much as £902 each year for people on the full benefit.

Millions of people claiming their State Pension can look forward to an inflation-busting boost next month when payments rise by 8.5 per cent from April 8. Under the wages growth measure of the Triple Lock policy, those on the full New State Pension can expect an annual increase of £902, while those on the full Basic State Pension will see an uplift of £692.

The Scottish Government recently announced a new devolved disability payment designed to provide additional financial support for people of State Pension age will not include a mobility component. However, it has also confirmed the new benefit will not include any face-to-face assessments as part of the application process - unless requested by the claimant.