DWP update over means-testing State Pension after 'speculation and rumour'

A new Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) update has been issued - over future plans to means-test State Pension payments. Sandra Wrench from Bedford wrote a nine-page letter to the DWP in July - submitted through her local MP, Mohammad Yasin.

Responding to the ex-DWP employee’s concerns last month, Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds confirmed that the UK Government “have no plans” to means-test the State Pension. Ms Reynolds wrote: “I am sorry that speculation and rumour has caused Mrs Wrench undue concern. Ensuring a better deal for current and future pensioners is a priority for this Government.

“I can confirm that the State Pension is not subject to a means-test, and we have no plans to change this.” It comes as Mr Yasin also spoke out to see "what progress she has made on responding to recommendations on compensation made by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman in his report on changes to women’s state pension age."

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Ms Reynolds, the Labour Party MP, said: "I was the first Minister for eight long years to meet Women Against State Pension Inequality campaigners to hear their experiences directly. However, we do need time to carefully consider the ombudsman’s report and evidence before we can outline our approach."

She said: "The ombudsman’s report is a serious report that took six years to complete and deserves serious consideration. We are carefully reviewing the details of that complex report and will come to a conclusion in the round." She continued: "The ombudsman took six years to look into what is a serious, significant and complex set of cases. We need time to look at that seriously, and we are doing precisely that."

It came after Mr Yasin asked: "I have long supported women in Bedford born in the 1950s who have been failed by the DWP. We must do right by the WASPI women, some of whom are struggling to make ends meet. Will the Minister tell them today when the Government will respond to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which recommended a compensation scheme?"