A new online petition is calling on the UK Government to set a minimum level of weekly State Pension payments of £416.80 for every retiree, arguing that the current rates are “far too low”. It is also asking for the official age of retirement to be lowered from 66 back to 60 for both men and women.
The current State Pension payment rates are worth up to £185.15 for those on the New State Pension and up to £141.85 for people receiving the Basic State Pension. The contributory benefit is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and will increase in April by 10.1 per cent, under the Triple Lock rule, taking the New State Pension to £203.85 per week and the Basic to £156.20.
Petition creator, Michael Thompson, said that increasing the payment rate for everyone over 60 to £416 per week would result in an annual income of £21,673.60.
