Campaigners are calling for a substantial rise in the State Pension which would mean an additional £327-£379 a week (Image: GETTY)

State pensioners would get extra £329 a week under new campaign for payment rise

by · Birmingham Live

State pensioners would get at least an extra £329 a week under a new call for a payment rise. Campaigners want levels to be raised to the equivalent of 48 hours a week at the minimum wage, giving a new increased amount of £549.12.

If introduced, older people would receive £2,196.48 in their account every four weeks, equivalent to £28,554.24 a year (based on 52 weeks). This represents a substantial increase in the current amounts payable without any entitlement to Additional State Pension schemes such as SERPS.

The maximum weekly amount of New State Pension currently payable is £221.20, which means £884.80 deposited in accounts every four weeks and a yearly total of £11.502.40. Those on the pre-2016 Basic State Pension get a maximum weekly rate of £169.50 which is £678 every four weeks and £8,814 annually.

The proposed rise would see the New State Pension leap up by £327.92 a week and by more than £17,000 a year. For those on the old State Pension, the increase would be even more substantial with the weekly amount up by £379.62 or nearly £20,000 a year.

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A new petition on the UK Government and Parliament website is demanding the massive hike and also wants the State Pension paid from 60, rather than its current age of 66, which is set to rise further from 2026. It is also calling for all expats to get the same amounts.

At present, 453,000 pensioners live in countries where their pension has been frozen at the rate when they emigrated (if they were already of pension age at that point) or became eligible to claim (if they reached pension age later). Most of those affected live in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, which are among the countries where there's no pension uprating agreement with the UK government.

The petition, raised by Denver Johnson, states: "We want the Government to make the State Pension available from the age of 60 and increase this to equal 48 hours a week at the National Living Wage. Hence, from April 2024, a universal State Pension should be £549.12 per week or about £28,554.24 per year as a right to all, including expatriates, age 60 and above.

"We think that Government policy seems intent on the State Pension being a benefit, while increasing the age of entitlement. We want reforms so the State Pension is available from age 60, and linked to the National Living Wage."

At 10,000 signatures, the government must issue an official response to the petition and if it reaches 100,000 signatures, it would be considered for debate in Parliament.

Existing levels of the UK State Pension are set to go up again by 4.1 per cent from April 2025 and you can see all the details of the next set of increases here. The rise will be based on pay growth, in line with the triple lock system, and higher than the 1.7 per cent applied to most other DWP and HMRC benefits.

The Retirement Living Standards website says that a single person needs a pension of £14,400 a year and a couple require £22,400 just to have a minimum lifestyle with a one-week holiday in the UK and no car. For a moderate lifestyle, with a car and two weeks abroad in the Mediterranean, a single person would need £31,300 a year and a couple £43,100. Meanwhile, a comfortable lifestyle would necessitate £43,100 a year if you're single and £59,000 for a couple which would allow changing the car every five years and having one overseas holiday and several weekend breaks.

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