The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has rejected proposals calling for the State Pension to be paid to everyone in retirement at the same rate as the National Living Wage. This follows as a petition for it was signed by more than 30,000 people.
They said there were “no plans to increase the State Pension to equal 35 hours a week at the National Living Wage”. It added that the State Pension and the National Living Wage have “different purposes” and that a “direct comparison cannot be drawn” between them.
The petition said the National Living Wage for someone aged 23 or over, working a 35-hour week, is worth £16,919.99 per year while the New State Pension is worth £10.600 for the 2023/24 financial year. The maximum Basic State Pension is worth £8,122 this year.
Read more: DWP Universal Credit updates next month that will affect millions of claimants across the UK
It also proposed making changes that would see 12.6 million pensioners receive £364.70 each week. However, the DWP mentions that there has been no policy change to the State Pension since a similar topic was debated by MPs last year, reports Daily Record.
The response said: “We are committed to ensuring economic security for people at every stage of their life, including when they reach retirement. This petition suggests increasing the State Pension to equal 35 hours a week at 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.
“However, this is not appropriate for pensioners, most of whom 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.
“This year, the Government will spend over £151 billion directly on the State Pension and benefits for pensioners in Great Britain. In April, the State Pension saw its biggest ever rise, increasing by 10.1%. The full yearly rate of the New State Pension is now over £10,600 per year.
“In addition, the full yearly amount of the Basic State Pension is over £3,050 higher, in cash terms, than in 2010. That’s £790 more than if it had been uprated by earnings and £945 more than if it had been uprated by inflation (since 2010).”
You can read the full response to the proposals in the petition online here.
