Campaign Pushes for State Pension to Rise to £586 a Week – and Start at Age 60
A growing movement is calling for sweeping reforms to the UK’s state pension, with demands for payments to match the National Living Wage and to start six years earlier.
The push comes from an online petition, launched by campaigner Denver Johnson, which has already drawn in thousands of signatures.
The proposal, now live on Parliament’s website, outlines three major changes: lowering the state pension age to 60, increasing payments to £568.08 per week, that’s around £30,476 a year, and extending annual rises to British pensioners living abroad.
The petition reads: *”We want the Government to make the State Pension available from the age of 60 & increase this to equal 48hrs a week at the National Living Wage.
“We think that Government policy seems intent on the State Pension being a benefit not paid to all, while ever increasing the age of entitlement.
We want reforms to the State Pension, so that it is available to all, including expatriates, from age 60, and linked to the National Living Wage, for security.”*
Currently, the full new state pension stands at £221.20 per week. Those on the basic state pension receive £176.45. Eligibility depends on your National Insurance record, with 35 qualifying years needed for the full amount. Only about half of new state pension claimants get the maximum.
Every April, pension rates rise in line with the “triple lock”, the highest of inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%. Analysts are predicting a 5.2% uplift next April, meaning retirees could see £242.90 a week on the new rate, or £186.25 on the basic.
But not all pensioners benefit. Roughly 453,000 Brits abroad, in countries without a reciprocal deal, have their payments frozen at the rate they first received when leaving the UK.
Some live on as little as £20 per week. Campaigners say these retirees would also benefit from the proposed uplift, bringing them in line with pensioners in Britain.
If the petition reaches 10,000 signatures, ministers must respond. At 100,000, it will be considered for a parliamentary debate. As of now, it’s already past the 3,000 mark.
There’s a catch. Matching the National Living Wage could push the state pension above the income tax threshold, currently frozen at £12,570 until April 2028. That means many pensioners could find themselves paying tax on part of their retirement income.
Whether this proposal gains traction in Westminster remains to be seen. But one thing’s clear, calls for change to the state pension aren’t going away anytime soon.
