State pension petition calling for uprating for elderly DWP claimants gets response

Ministers have issued a response to a petition calling for those on the basic state pension to be uprated to the new state pension rates.

Such an increase would take a person on the full basic state pension, of £156.20 a week, or £624.80 a month, up to £203.85 a week, or £815.40 a month.

The Government said it has "no plans" to implement such a change and provide all pensioners with the new state pension rates.

The response said: "It is not possible to make direct, like for like comparisons between state pension amounts under the pre-2016 state pension system and the new state pension.

"Comparing the headline full rates alone is misleading: this does not reflect the full position for people under each system."

The petition has had 12,000 signatures with the campaign stating it is "unfair and unjustifiable" that those on the basic state pension get more than £200 a month less than new state pensioners.

State pension payments are increasing 8.5 percent this month, with the full basic state pension increasing to £169.50 a week while the full new state pension will be £221.20 a week.

The Government response explained some of the complexities about how state pension payments can differ.

It said: "It is not the case that everybody who receives the new state pension will immediately receive the full rate of £221.20 per week. Nor is it the case that everyone in the pre-2016 system only receives the basic state pension.

"Under the pre-2016 system, people receive different amounts depending on the National Insurance contributions they made. In addition to the basic state pension, people could also have qualified for the additional State Pension for the years that they paid the full rate of National Insurance.

"This means that the state could pay them in excess of £200 a week on top of the basic state pension, which may result in a much higher state pension amount than the new state pension."

A person typically needs 30 years of National Insurance contributions to get the full basic state pension and 35 years of contributions to get the full new state pension.

The Government response also said: "There are other reasons why it is not possible to make direct comparisons between the pre-2016 and new State Pension systems.

"For example, people in the new system will, in general, have to wait longer for their state pension than those under the pre 2016 system.

"The state pension age has been 66 since 2020 and is rising to 67 by 2028. By contrast, those who receive their state pension under the pre 2016 system will generally have received their state pension at 65 or below, and therefore will in comparison with people on the new system, receive it for more years in total."

You can read the response in full here.

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