All posts tagged: pensioners

Will pensioners be poorer as a result of Burnham scrapping the triple lock? | State pensions

Will pensioners be poorer as a result of Burnham scrapping the triple lock? | State pensions

Published by Sam Flores

The prime minister has announced that the pensions triple lock will be scrapped in its current form, to partly fund a national care service. What is the new policy? On the existing triple lock, the state pension increases each April by inflation, 2.5% or average earnings, whichever is higher. From 2030, under what Labour is calling an “adjusted triple lock”, the pension will still rise either in line with prices, or 2.5% each year, whichever is higher – but it won’t rise in line with earnings unless its value has fallen behind. In that case, it will be adjusted so that it keeps pace. Why the change? The cost of providing the state pension in the 2026/27 tax year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank, will be £154bn, making it the most costly benefit in the UK. Andy Burnham has outlined ambitious plans for a national care service that will need to be paid for. The new policy removes what thinktank the Resolution Foundation has called the “ratchet” effect, which can happen …

Three pensioners killed on same day in frenzied attacks, inquests told | UK News

Three pensioners killed on same day in frenzied attacks, inquests told | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

Three pensioners were killed on the same day in their own homes during frenzied attacks in Devon, joint inquests have heard. Anthony Payne, 80, was attacked with a hammer and identical twins Dick and Roger Carter, 84, were bludgeoned to death with a shovel. They were all killed by Alexander Lewis-Ranwell, now 35, on 10 February, 2019. The attacks took place three hours apart at two houses a mile and a half away from each other in Exeter. Philip Spinney, the senior coroner for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, told a jury that hours before Mr Payne was attacked, Lewis-Ranwell had been released from police custody after being arrested for attacking elderly farmer John Ellis with a saw. This was his second arrest in the space of 24 hours and occurred just seven hours after he had been arrested for attempted burglary at another farm. He was released from custody at Barnstaple police station at 2.49am on 9 February but returned there seven hours later after attacking Mr Ellis. “You will hear evidence that after he …

DWP confirms 2.2 million pensioners must pay back winter fuel payments | Personal Finance | Finance

DWP confirms 2.2 million pensioners must pay back winter fuel payments | Personal Finance | Finance

Published by Sam Flores

State pensioners who earn too much and fail to opt out are being targeted to repay their winter fuel payments (Image: Getty Images) Fresh figures reveal that over 2.2 million individuals are expected to face repayment of their Winter Fuel Payments. The Department for Work and Pensions has today published new data demonstrating the number of recipients following the payment’s restoration for millions last year. During the previous winter, 10.9 million people received between £100 and £300 towards heating costs. This represented a significant increase from 1.3 million the previous year, when eligibility was restricted to Pension Credit recipients only. However, DWP estimates indicate that millions will be required to reimburse the payment. Anyone earning above £35,000 in taxable income who fails to decline the payment will face repayment through taxation. As a result, recipients of £200 will be repaying at approximately £17 monthly. From April 2027 onwards, however, HMRC will begin recovering Winter Fuel Payments in advance via PAYE within the same tax year of distribution. This means some individuals could effectively face double …

State pensioners ‘targeted with more legal letters’ HMRC admits | Personal Finance | Finance

State pensioners ‘targeted with more legal letters’ HMRC admits | Personal Finance | Finance

Published by Sam Flores

Jonathan Athow Director General HM Revenue and Customs admitted more pensioners will be targeted (Image: Parliament TV) Pensioners could be targeted by legal letters over savings, officials at HMRC have admitted. Due to the personal tax threshold freeze, together with frozen interest tax bands, the HMRC told a committee of MPs that it was more likely people are being targeted. And officials told the Treasury Committee that banks are sending HMRC officials details about the savings of state pensioners – and they’re being charged tax for the first time. Dame Harriett Baldwin mentioned a constituent’s case where a pensioner in her mid-70s: “Suddenly got a demand for a past year—something like two or three years ago—based on bank data. Are you suddenly getting a lot of cases open retrospectively because you are now receiving more information on savings interest from banks? Is that something that is happening?” HMRC Director General for Customer Compliance Group Penny Ciniewicz said that officials are ‘Certainly using bank and savings data more than we used to.” The increase in pensioners …

‘We’re disabled but our benefits were taken away when we became Nottinghamshire pensioners’

‘We’re disabled but our benefits were taken away when we became Nottinghamshire pensioners’

Published by Sam Flores

Des Conway’s disability bus pass was usually renewed every five years. But when he got his last one, he noticed that it would expire less than six months later. “I couldn’t understand why they’d only give it to me for less than a year,” he says. He soon realised that the expiry date listed on the card was his 66th birthday, April 6 – the exact date he’d officially become an old age pensioner – and began to put two and two together. His pass was going to be replaced by a pensioner’s one instead – meaning he’d no longer be eligible to travel for free before 9.30am in the morning on weekdays. “This is discriminatory,” Des wrote in a letter to Nottingham City Council, asking them to reinstate disability passes. But the council said it wasn’t “in the position to make a change” to the policy, which had been in place for 10 years. “This reflects the fact that one of the main objectives of providing the pre-9.30am Mobility Pass Concession is to help …

Pensioners warned as 1m face highest rates of income tax | Politics | News

Pensioners warned as 1m face highest rates of income tax | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

More pensioners are being dragged into paying income tax (Image: Getty) More than one million pensioners are now being hammered by the highest rates of income tax, with the number set to climb even further as frozen thresholds tighten the squeeze. The number of older people paying the 40% or 45% rates has more than doubled in just five years, soaring from 494,000 in 2021/22 to more than one million in 2026/27. The surge follows the freezing of income tax thresholds in 2021, creating a stealth tax as rising pensions and other income drag more retirees into higher bands even though tax rates have not increased. And the squeeze extends far beyond the wealthiest pensioners. Another 2.2 million have been pulled into paying basic-rate income tax, with the total rising from 6.2 million in 2021/22 to 8.4 million this year. The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request by former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb, come amid warnings that millions more retirees could be caught in the tax net if thresholds remain frozen. Meanwhile, …

Murder investigation after pensioner’s body found in park

Murder investigation after pensioner’s body found in park

Published by Sam Flores

A murder investigation has been launched after the discovery of an elderly woman’s body in a Liverpool park. Merseyside Police said the body of a woman in her 70s could have been in Stanley Park for “a number of weeks”. Police were called to the park at around 5.25pm on Friday when the body was discovered in a walled garden. Following a post-mortem on Saturday, police are working to confirm the woman’s identity. Det Supt Rachel Wilson said: “We understand that this will be distressing for people and I want the local community to be reassured that we are doing everything to find the person or persons responsible and bring them to justice. “We have carried out a number of lines of enquiry, including examining any missing-person reports in the Merseyside and the wider area. At this stage we have not been able to identify the woman and would ask for the public’s help by coming forward with any information. “We know she is a white woman, aged in her 70s, approximately 5ft 2in tall, …

DWP says five groups will not get £300 Winter Fuel Payment this year | UK | News

DWP says five groups will not get £300 Winter Fuel Payment this year | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Millions of pensioners are set to receive up to £300 towards their heating bills this winter, but the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed five groups who will miss out. The Winter Fuel Payment provides eligible older people with between £100 and £300 to help with energy costs during the colder months. For winter 2026 to 2027, people born on or before June 27, 1960 who live in England or Wales could qualify for the support. However, DWP rules mean some people will not receive a payment even if they meet the age requirement. The five groups who will not qualify are people who: Were in hospital receiving free treatment throughout the qualifying week of September 21 to 27, 2026, as well as for the year before Need permission to enter the UK and have been granted leave on the condition that they cannot claim public funds Were in prison throughout the qualifying week of September 21 to 27, 2026 Receive certain means-tested benefits and have been living in a care home for …

DWP confirms £439 extra per year for older state pensioners who retired before 2016

DWP confirms £439 extra per year for older state pensioners who retired before 2016

Published by Sam Flores

State pensioners receiving Additional Pension payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could pocket an extra £439 annually. Since April 6, eligible older state pensioners have seen their maximum AP payments rise from £222.10 per week to £230.54 per week. This amounts to approximately £439. Numerous individuals will have attained State Pension Age or accrued qualifying years prior to April 6, 2016. The framework in place before that date primarily comprised two state pensions: the Basic State Pension and the Additional State Pension. The Basic State Pension resembles the new State Pension, functioning as a flat-rate pension benefit (governed by distinct regulations). The present full rate of Basic State Pension stands at £169.50 per week. This figure will climb to £176.45 per week in April 2025. The £361 annual increase was confirmed in the Budget delivered on October 30, 2024, reports Birmingham Live. The Additional State Pension principally encompasses two earnings-linked pension benefits operational between 1978 and 2002 (SERPS) and from 2002 to 2016 (the State Second Pension). These were disbursed alongside the …

Pensioners should be taxed more to address rising costs of ageing population, Burnham told

Pensioners should be taxed more to address rising costs of ageing population, Burnham told

Published by Sam Flores

Andy Burnham should hike taxes on pensioners to bolster Britain’s public finances, an influential policy think tank has said. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has urged the prime minister to extend national insurance to older earners, including by applying the 2 per cent NI surcharge to pensioners. Its report warns that an ageing population will account for nearly 80 per cent of the additional fiscal pressure confronting the UK by 2075, and calls on the government to act in order to shield younger Britons. The intervention follows statements from Mr Burnham, who refused to rule out tax increases in the Budget, telling ITV News on Monday that he “won’t be unrealistic” about the state of public finances. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has urged Andy Burnham to extend national insurance to older earners, including by applying the 2 per cent NI surcharge to pensioners (PA) Questions remain over how Labour pledges, including £5 billion in defence spending announced prior to entering No 10 and major social care reforms, will be funded. …