New DWP response to calls to increase State Pension and stop 'means-testing’ older people
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has defended the UK Government’s decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments in a written response to an online petition calling for change. More than 12,670 people have shown support for Michael Thompson’s calls to ‘stop means-testing pensioners’ and to increase State Pension payments.
The e-petition, posted on the UK Government’s petitions-parliament website, states: “We demand the government stop means-testing pensioners, that we think is a degrading and humiliating practice. We also think the State Pension should be increased.”
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Mr Thompson goes on to say how the media is portraying pensioners as a ‘burden’ on the NHS and the welfare system and argues that older people are “entitled to a decent pension and a comfortable lifestyle as many will have already paid into the system for longer than the rest of the population by now”.
He continues: “We believe any Government should have a responsibility toward our nation's elderly people. In the Victorian era, retirement was often only an option for those who had accrued wealth. Are we regressing back to those Dickensian times? We believe means-testing is an abhorrent practice that is demeaning and intrusive.”
However, the DWP responded that the UK Government is “committed to supporting current and future generations of pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement” adding that there is “no means test for the State Pension, and this Government will never introduce one”.
DWp continued: “We have made a commitment to the Triple Lock for the entirety of this Parliament which means spending on people’s State Pensions is forecast to rise by over £31 billion. Our commitment means millions of pensioners are set to see their State Pension rise by up to £1,900 a year by the end of this Parliament. Protecting the Triple Lock even in the current economic climate shows our steadfast commitment to pensioners.”
Winter Fuel Payments
Directly addressing the recent change to the Winter Fuel Payment, which 9.2 million pensioners now miss out on because they are not in receipt of a means-tested benefit such as Pension Credit, DWP said: “Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances, the Government has had to make difficult decisions to bring the public finances back under control. This includes the decision to target the Winter Fuel Payment on low-income pensioners who need it most.”
DWP explained that because the Labour Government has taken “tough but fair decisions to put the public finances on a stable footing” that it has been possible to invest an extra £22.6bn in day-to-day health spending in England over this financial year and next with consequential funding increases for the Welsh and Scottish Governments.
DWP added: “The New State Pension was introduced in April 2016 with the aim of providing a clearer, sustainable foundation for private saving. The full rate of £221.20 per week (2024/25) was set above the Standard Minimum Guarantee level of Pension Credit, to remove disincentives to save.
“Removing previous savings disincentives by reducing the interaction between private pension income and means-tested benefits for those with modest incomes, has enabled pensioners to see greater benefits from their retirement savings or income.”
DWP also said that Pension Credit will continue to provide an “important safety net for those who need it”.
The full DWP response to the ‘stop means testing pensioners and increase the State Pension’ petition can be found here.
At 100,000 signatures of support, the petition would be considered by the Petitions Committee for debate in Parliament.
