A petition is urging the DWP to end state pension payments for those on higher incomes in their retirement
DWP urged to scrap state pension for retirees on income over £50,000(Image: )
The Department for Work and Pensions has been urged to “end” the state pension for pensioners earning over £50,000. A petition is calling on the DWP to abolish payments for those on higher incomes during retirement.
The petition states: “We urge the Government to review existing state pension entitlements and introduce the following reforms: 1) end the triple lock 2) reduce entitlements for those on existing private defined benefit schemes with an income £20,000 + 3) end state pensions for incomes over £50k.
“We urge the Government to use additional money from these reforms to fund scrapping tuition fees for students. Current state pension benefits cost nearly £150 billion a year – we believe this is unsustainable.
“We believe those with the broadest shoulders should support an approach which keeps the Chancellor within her borrowing limits and protects priority departments, like the NHS and Defence.
“We believe young people need more help. We believe £50k in debt for students is too much.”, reports Birmingham Live.
A government response requires 10,000 signatures.
DWP urged to scrap state pension for retirees on income over £50,000(Image: )
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At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament. The Triple Lock is an uprating mechanism introduced by the Coalition Government and first implemented in 2012-13, acknowledging that the real value of the basic State Pension had declined over numerous years.
The State Pension increases annually in accordance with the highest of price rises, average earnings or 2.5%. This applies to the new State Pension for post-April 2016 pensioners, and the basic State Pension for older pensioners (but not to other elements of the State Pension such as the additional State Pension which many older pensioners receive).
The price component of the Triple Lock is based on price increases in the 12 months leading up to September as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). This is also the measure of price inflation used for other elements of the State Pension and numerous social security benefits.
The previous Conservative Party government passed legislation to abandon the earnings element of the Triple Lock in April 2022-23. This was due to the over 8% increase in July’s average earnings being unusually high because of a ‘covid-related distortion’.