The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) faces pressure to hike the Basic State Pension to £221 each week for nearly nine million people. The ‘Abolish the basic State Pension, increase the new State Pension and pay to all’ petition has racked up hundreds of signatures.
It urges the DWP : “We think the government should abolish the ‘basic State Pension’, put all our elderly onto the new State Pension, and increase the new State Pension to a good percentage of average earnings.” It adds: “We believe those on the basic Pension should be paid the difference accrued between the basic and new State Pension since the new State Pension’s introduction.
“Britain’s basic State Pension is currently £169.50 per week. Britain’s New State Pension is currently £221.20 a week. Britain’s average weekly earnings (AWE) were estimated at £693 in August 2024.” At 10,000 signatures, the government will respond to this petition.
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At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament. It comes as Labour Party MP Jessica Toale asked Pensions Minister, Emma Reynolds in the Commons about an “assessment of the potential merits of equalising the Basic and New State Pension”.
In a written response on Wednesday, Ms Reynolds said: “We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. We have made no such assessment. It is not possible to make direct, like for like comparisons between State Pension amounts received under the pre 2016 State Pension system and the new State Pension.”
Ms Reynolds went on, telling the MP in the Commons: “Under both systems, the amount people are entitled to varies according to their National Insurance record. It is not the case that everyone in the new system receives more than everyone in the pre 2016 system.”