Raising state pension to £380 a week ‘unaffordable’

State pension: Pensioner asks ‘who’s going to pay?’

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It follows a debate by MPs on a recent Parliament petition which called for radical change in the state pension system. The petition, which garnered over 110,000 signatures, said raising state pension payments to £380 would make the sum equivalent to the National Living Wage and “lift thousands out of poverty”.

It continued that a restoration of the state pension age to 60 for both men and women would help those who have worked from a young age. 

Marsha de Cordova, the Labour MP asked to open the debate, said: “We must look at all options to ensure that when everybody reaches later life that they won’t be fearing retirement, but embracing it.

“They will know there is a state pension system, a safety net there to support them and they won’t be struggling.”

However, Laura Trott, pensions minister, said the Government disagrees with the petition’s proposed approach.

She added: “The National Living Wage and the state pension are two very different things, and a direct comparison cannot be drawn between the two.

“We need to be honest with the public. The state pension of £380 per week for every pensioner would be unaffordable.

“Reducing the state pension age to 60 would massively increase the tax burden of the current working age population.”

Ms Trott pointed towards other forms of income such as private pensions which can offer additional income.

She also said Pension Credit is available to low income pensioners, and encouraged people to claim by December 18 to ensure they get a cost of living payment worth £324. 

The minister said the Government remains committed to ensuring the state pension is the “foundation” of pensioner incomes. 

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Ahead of the debate, the Petitions Committee conducted an online survey to ask people for their views on the rate of the state pension and retirement age – with 21,956 respondents.

The data showed most pensioners (73 percent) are using the state pension as their main source of income. 

The current rising cost of living has increased financial difficulties for pensioners, particularly in the areas of bills, food, transport, household goods and recreation.

Some 93 percent of those asked said an increase to £380 per week would make it ‘somewhat’ or ‘much’ easier to afford food, while 92 percent said the same for energy bills.

When asked what an increase in the state pension would mean to respondents, many discussed being able to live, eat and heat their homes, as well as a positive impact on their mental health.

One pensioner remarked: “It would enable me to live and participate within UK society rather than be forced to stay at home and really just exist. After working 50 years in the NHS, I think I deserve more than to sit waiting to die.”

While another said: “The state pension is £9,627 per annum, while the living wage is £19,000. It is both unrealistic and cruel to expect elderly people to survive on what is almost 50 percent less than the cost of living.

“The people currently receiving pensions have worked, contributed to their pension allowance and the UK economy for the majority of their adult lives.

“The current increases in cost of living are not the fault of pensioners. They should not have to suffer in poverty.”

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Some 90 percent of those planning their retirement also said they would want the state pension age to be decreased.

One person explained: “I’ve worked since I was 16, and my wife since she was 15. I don’t retire for another two years, and won’t be able to enjoy my retirement as we won’t have enough income and good enough health.”

Another added: “I am 51 and my occupation is a manual worker on the highways, lifting heavy materials by hand due to the nature of my trade for many years.

“I suffer from joint and back pain and would ask how am I going to continue working up until 67 when I have such a heavy job? The law needs to change to help people like myself.”

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