All posts tagged: State Pension

Falklands veteran calls on Keir Starmer to end frozen state pensions scandal | Politics | News

Falklands veteran calls on Keir Starmer to end frozen state pensions scandal | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Image: Getty) A Falklands veteran has called on Sir Keir Starmer to end the frozen state pensions scandal. Roger Edwards, 79, who served in the Falklands War, urged the Government to look at the issue again for the British Overseas Territory. He is one of more than 400,000 British retirees living abroad whose state pensions were frozen from the date they left. His plea comes as a representatives from counties including the Falkland Islands, Canada, Australia and South Africa are taking part in a discussion on the issue in Parliament on Wednesday. Read more: ‘Forgotten’ WW2 veteran on ‘half’ state pension urges Rachel Reeves to act Roger Edwards has had his state pension frozen after moving to the Falkland Islands (Image: NC) Mr Edwards, a former Royal Marine and Royal Navy officer, moved to the Falklands in 1986 with his wife Norma, a Falkland Islander he met in the UK. He said: “I paid my national insurance all the time I was in the military and when I left the …

Rachel Reeves provides urgent state pension tax change update | UK | News

Rachel Reeves provides urgent state pension tax change update | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Rachel Reeves has issued an update for pensioners (Image: Getty) Rachel Reeves has issued a fresh update on a looming tax change affecting millions of pensioners as the value of the state pension continues to rise. The Chancellor confirmed the Government is working on plans to ensure pensioners whose only income is the state pension will not be forced to pay income tax, despite increases driven by the triple lock policy. Her comments come after warnings that more pensioners could be pushed into paying tax from April as the state pension rises again. Under the Government’s current policy, the state pension increases each year under the State Pension Triple Lock, which guarantees payments rise by whichever is highest between 2.5%, inflation or average wage growth. READ MORE: ‘Fight back against Rachel Reeves – by building your own inheritance tax pot’ READ MORE: Diesel drivers ‘feeling the heat’ as they’re hit with 17p per mile charges seno (Image: Getty) From April 2026, the full new state pension will increase by 4.8%, rising to £241.30 per week, …

What taxes do you stop paying when you’re a pensioner?

What taxes do you stop paying when you’re a pensioner?

Published by Sam Flores

Pensioners are being warned that they could no longer be exempt from paying tax once the new financial year hits. By April 2026, an extra 600,000 pensioners could be expected to pay income tax after Rachel Reeves pledged to freeze the income tax threshold until at least 2028 in the autumn budget, according to the government’s fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility. This freeze will result in an additional one million pensioners paying income tax by 2030-31, the OBR said. While Rachel Reeves has pledged that no pensioners who solely claim the state pension without any other earnings will be forced to pay tax, retirement expert and former pensions minister Steve Webb has said that HMRC has “underestimated” just how many pensioners will be hit by the fiscal drag. Ahead of the new financial year, Yahoo News explains what taxes pensioners are eligible to pay, where they are exempt, and just who will be expected to pay income tax due to the personal allowance freeze. What taxes do pensioners no longer pay once they …

Rachel Reeves slammed over ‘Retirement Tax’ pensions bombshell | Politics | News

Rachel Reeves slammed over ‘Retirement Tax’ pensions bombshell | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

The Conservatives warned before the election, and we are warning again now – Rachel Reeves is coming for your pension. It all stems from a Chancellor whose economic plan, if there ever was one, is in pieces. She has smashed the public finances and left herself scrambling for revenue wherever she can find it. Her last Budget was littered with stealth taxes – pay-per-mile, taxi tax, pension contributions. Labour don’t have the backbone take the bold action needed to embolden our economy, she could start by tackling the ballooning benefits bill, instead, Labour simply hunts for sneaky ways to take more of your money. Reeves should be looking for growth, cutting taxes, freeing the economy, but no, she has her sights on pensioners. And that brings us to the latest example. Rachel Reeves has frozen the income tax threshold for years to come. The Conservatives are voting against that freeze because we know it drags more people into paying tax without anyone ever announcing a new tax rise. That is the stealth tax at the …

State Pension February DWP payments – which day you are paid | UK | News

State Pension February DWP payments – which day you are paid | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

State pension payments will proceed as scheduled in February following a payment date adjustment in the New Year. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) distributes the state pension every four weeks directly into recipients’ bank accounts. Last month’s payment date was affected due to the bank holiday on January 1. The day pensioners receive their payment is determined by the final two digits of their National Insurance number. According to the rules, those with codes 00 to 19 receive payments on a Monday, whilst 20 to 39 are paid on a Tuesday. Codes 40 to 59 are paid on a Wednesday, 60 to 79 on a Thursday, and 80 to 99 on a Friday. The DWP states: “You’ll be asked when you want to start getting your State Pension when you claim. Your first payment will be no later than 5 weeks after the date you choose. You’ll get a full payment every 4 weeks after that. “You might get part of a payment before your first full payment. The letter confirming your State …

Triple lock not enough on its own to prevent 1.9 million pensioners from poverty | Politics | News

Triple lock not enough on its own to prevent 1.9 million pensioners from poverty | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

Some four years now into the cost of living crisis, life remains extremely tough for older people on very tight fixed incomes. Inflation may be down compared to before but the cumulative impact of all the rises in utility and food bills over the last few years is hitting them hard today and every day. We also often hear from pensioners who were frugal throughout their working lives and expected to enjoy a comfortable retirement, but who now find their careful planning has been overtaken by price hikes on all sides, leaving them in a bind. Without the triple lock the position would have been even worse – a rebuke to those who say this crucial policy should now go – but the truth is that the triple lock is not enough on its own to prevent 1.9 million older people from experiencing poverty in the UK, equivalent to almost one in five of all over-65s. Many of them are compelled to resort to keeping their heating turned down low or off for periods in …

State pension ‘tax code’ £12,570 change update as Treasury responds | Personal Finance | Finance

State pension ‘tax code’ £12,570 change update as Treasury responds | Personal Finance | Finance

Published by Sam Flores

The Treasury has given a response to a petition calling for the government to grant pensioners a special exemption to avoid the tax burden on the lowest earners. A petition on the Parliament website is urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to introduce a new tax code for pensioners that would double their personal tax allowance. Ms Reeves last month decided to freeze the lowest income tax threshold of £12,570 until 2031 – meaning that those only on the new State Pension would cross the threshold to paying tax on it from 2027 due to the triple lock. The petition, which can be viewed here, has soared to 25,000 signatures – and now the Treasury has given an official response. The triple lock will boost the full new State Pension from £230.25 to £241.30 per week (£12,548 per year) next year, which is just slightly below the threshold. The petition, initiated by Timothy Hugh Mason, states: “We want the government to introduce a new tax code for state pensioners, set at double the basic threshold. If this …