The UK Government has rejected calls for a minimum weekly State Pension payment of £380 for all men and women over the age of 60. More than 98,000 people have signed an online petition asking for the current payment rates to be increased and the official age of retirement to be lowered back to 60.
The petition has been created by Michael Thompson who said that increasing the weekly payment rate for everyone over 60 would result in an annual income of £19,600, which “should lift thousands out of poverty, and give our elderly folk more spending power”. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has responded and said that the “Government has no plans to increase State Pension to £380 per week or reduce State Pension age to 60”.
However, it added that the UK Government has “committed to implementing the Triple Lock in the usual way for the remainder of the Parliament” and that State Pension is “likely to increase substantially in 2023/24”.
