Closed petition Increase the state pension to £19,760 a year (£380 a week)
The 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.
More details
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 money for but are expected to do it on less than half the income of those on the national living wage, this is unacceptable.
Level up and treat everyone the same, this is the right thing to do.
This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months
Government responded
This response was given on 14 April 2022
The Government has no plans to match State Pension and the NLW, which serve different purposes. We have never paid our pensioners more, spending over £134 billion on pensioner benefits this year.
Read the response in full
The Government disagrees with the proposed approach of this petition. This petition suggests linking the State Pension and the National Living Wage (NLW). The two have different purposes, and a direct comparison cannot be drawn. The NLW aims to protect low income workers and provide an incentive to work by ensuring that workers benefit from being employed. Most pensioners have left the labour market.
Comparisons made in this petition between headline State Pension payments and the NLW do not consider the full package of measures available to support people in retirement. In addition to the headline State Pension amounts, there are many further sources of financial support for pensioners. Those aged over State Pension age are entitled to free eye tests, free NHS prescriptions and free bus passes. Those aged over 75 and in receipt of Pension Credit are eligible for free TV licences. In addition, Winter Fuel Payments provide pensioners with support for their energy bills worth over £2 billion every winter.
In 2016, the Government introduced the new State Pension to provide a simple and sustainable foundation for private saving, as well as addressing some historic inequalities in the State Pension system. The new State Pension provides better outcomes on average for low earners, the self-employed and many women. The full yearly rate of the new State Pension is now over £9,650 per year. Automatic enrolment into workplace pensions was introduced to encourage more people to save for their retirement, meaning more than 10 million employees have now been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. In addition to direct State Pension payments, savers benefit from the Government’s support of tax relief for work-based pension contributions, worth over £50 billion per year.
This year, the Government will spend over £134 billion on the State Pension and benefits for pensioners in Great Britain. Based on the most recent data from August-2021, yearly average amounts of State Pension in payment are £ 8,302 per individual. Since 2010, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension has risen by over £2,300, in cash terms and £720 more than if it had been uprated by inflation.
Department for Work and Pensions
Related activity
Share your views on increasing the state pension to £380 a week and lowering the retirement age to 60
The MPs on the Petitions Committee have scheduled a debate on a petition calling for the state pension to be increased to £380 a week and the retirement age to be lowered to 60, which you signed.
Marsha De Cordova MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, has been asked to open the debate.
Share your views
To inform the debate, Marsha would like to hear your views on this issue, including how well you feel the current state pension meets pensioners' needs and what you think about the state pension age.
You can share your views with Marsha by completing this survey:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/2HAO3W/
The survey will close on Tuesday 6 December at midday.
Your responses will be anonymous. A summary of responses will be published on the Committee's website and may be shared with MPs and quoted during the debate.
Watch the debate
The debate will be held on Monday 12 December at 4.30pm.
- Watch the debate (from 4.30pm on Monday 12 December)
- Read a transcript of the debate (available a few hours after the debate happens)
What are petition debates?
Petitions debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs will not vote on changing the state pension at the end of the debate.
Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament
Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.
MPs debate the state pension age
The Petitions Committee scheduled a debate in the House of Commons on the state pension. This took place on Monday 12 December 2022. A member of the Committee, Tonia Antoniazzi MP, opened the debate.
Read a summary of what was said, watch the debate and access other relevant material:
What did you tell us about the state pension?
This includes results from a survey we conducted to ask people who signed this petition about their views on the state pension.
What are petitions debates?
Petitions debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs did not vote on increasing the state pension age at the end of the debate.
Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament
Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.