A petition has been launched on the UK Parliamentary website urging the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Labour Party government to increase the state pension by £2,014 to align it with the national minimum wage.
The petition states: “The National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over is currently £23,132 per year (calculated on a 35-hour week and 52 weeks per year). Even the National Minimum Wage for under-18s equates to £14,560 annually on the same basis. In contrast, my full New State Pension is only £12,564 after a lifetime of work.”
It argues that a minimum standard of living for those aged 65 and over should be no less than £14,500, and that the state pension ought to reflect this figure. Notably, the petition criticises the UK’s position in Europe, where the UK ranks 13th out of 28 in terms of pension amounts.
READ MORE: DWP Changes Benefit Rules Amid Rising Number of Children in Workless Households
Highlighting the disparities for younger workers, it notes that apprentices and under-18 employees are legislated to earn at least £14,560, while workers aged 18 to 20 receive a minimum wage equivalent to £19,747 per annum. The petition believes that for individuals who have contributed National Insurance and taxes throughout their working lives, the current full state pension of £12,564 is insufficient and unfair.
The New State Pension currently applies to men born after 1951, generally those 75 years old and younger, with a pension age starting at 66 but planned to rise to 67.
This petition follows a previous similar effort titled ‘Give State Pension to all at 60 and increase it to equal 48hrs of Living Wage,’ which closed in December and received a government response. That petition advocated for the state pension to be available from age 60 at a level equivalent to 48 hours per week at the National Living Wage, estimating an annual amount of approximately £30,476, and for this to apply universally, including to expatriates.
Responding to past concerns, the government affirmed its commitment to supporting pensioners, emphasising the protections offered by the Triple Lock policy, which benefits over 12 million pensioners. It stated that, under current commitments, state pension spending will increase by around £31 billion annually compared to 2024/25 levels.
The government also highlighted the introduction of the New State Pension in 2016 as a simpler and more sustainable foundation for retirement income, complementing private and workplace pensions, particularly through Automatic Enrolment schemes. To address future challenges, a Pensions Commission has been established to ensure the pension system continues to provide a decent standard of living for retirees in the coming decades.