State pension could rise £580 per week and retirement age fall to 60 in new campaign
A petition to Parliament is demanding the state pension increase to the equivalent of 48 hours a week at the National Living Wage, which pays £12.21 an hour for workers
Campaigners are pushing for a dramatic hike in the state pension to over £30,000 a year and a lowering of the eligibility age to 60. A petition to Parliament is calling for the state pension to match 48 hours a week at the National Living Wage, currently set at £12.21 an hour for workers aged over 21.
The campaign also champions a significant drop in the retirement age to 60 - the current state pension age stands at 66 for both men and women, with plans to increase it to 67 between 2026 and 2028. The petition states: "We want the Government to make the state pension available from the age of 60 and increase this to equal 48hrs a week at the National Living Wage.
"Therefore, from April 2025, a universal state pension should be £586.08 per week or roughly £30,476.16 per year as a right to all, including expatriates, aged 60 and above. Such a hike would more than double the full new state pension rate, which currently stands at £230.25 a week, or £11,973 a year."
The campaigners have also voiced concerns that the government intends to make the state pension system less generous. The petition states: "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."
If the petition racks up 10,000 signatures, the government will be compelled to respond. Should it hit a staggering 100,000 backers, the issue could be debated in Parliament, according to the Express, reports the Mirror.
To be eligible for the full new state pension, you typically need a record of 35 years of National Insurance contributions. The full basic state pension currently sits at £176.45 a week, usually requiring 30 years of contributions.
Folks can check their projected state pension using the state pension forecast tool on the government website. State pension payments see an annual boost each April, courtesy of the triple lock policy, which sets the percentage increase for payment rates.
The triple lock guarantees a pay rise in line with the highest of either inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5 per cent. Based on recent figures, the earnings metric looks set to be the key determinant for next April's increase, standing at 5.3 per cent in the latest data.
Inflation was clocked at 3.4 per cent for the year to May, a slight dip from 3.5 per cent for the year to April.
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