The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently confirmed that State Pension payments will rise by 3.1% in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from April 11, 2022.
The upcoming increase means that the basic State Pension will go up to £141.85 per week from £137.60 and the full, new State Pension will rise to £185.15 from £179.60.
However, a new petition is calling on the UK Government to increase State Pension payments to £19,760 per year, equivalent to £380 each week, to come into line with the upcoming rise to the National Living Wage, which will increase to £9.50 an hour for people working a 40-hour week.
Created earlier this week by Stephen Edward Wyatt and posted on the petition-parliament website, the ‘Increase the State Pension to £19,760 a year (£380 a week)’ petition has already gathered more than 5,300 signatures of support.
At 10,000 signatures, the UK Government will respond to the petition, at 100,000 it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
The petition reads: “The [UK] Government should raise the State Pension to match the yearly equivalent of the National Living Wage (NLW).
“The NLW is rising to £9.50 an hour (i.e. £19,760 a year for F/T 40h per week), which we are told is needed to live, yet pensioners are expected to live on a state pension of £7,376 a year.”
It continues: “The State Pension is not enough to live on. All people regardless of standing are supposed to be looked on as equal, this is clearly not the case.
“Most people have paid into the State Pension through National Insurance Contributions during their working life.
“Most pensioners live active lives and have to pay the same bills as others have to find money for but are expected to do it on less than half the income of those on the National Living Wage, this is unacceptable.”
The petition ends by asking the UK Government to “level up and treat everyone the same, this is the right thing to do”.
The petition will close on August 25, 2022 - read it in full here.
An estimated two million workers across the UK will see a pay rise next month when the National Living Wage increases by 6.6%.
During the Autumn Budget statement in October, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the rate for people aged 23 and over will go up from £8.91 an hour to £9.50 from April 2022 and means a full-time worker earning the living wage will get a pay rise of above £1,000 per year.
The 6.6% hike is more than twice the Consumer Price Inflation rate (CPI) of 3.1% which will be applied to all benefits and State Pension delivered by the DWP.
To keep up to date with the outcome of this petition, join our Money Saving Scotland Facebook group here, follow Record Money on Twitter here, or subscribe to our twice weekly newsletter here.
