State pensioners call for £1,936 more as state pension bid targets minimum wage
State pensioners could get as much as £1,936 more if a petition calling for the retirement benefit to be matched to minimum wage is successful.
TL;DR
- A petition seeks to increase the state pension to £14,500 per year, matching the minimum wage for under-18s.
- The current full new state pension is £12,547.60, which is argued to be below a minimum living standard.
- The petition highlights that the UK state pension ranks 13th out of 28 European countries.
- It also draws comparisons to the minimum wage for apprentices, under-18s, and 18-20 year olds.
- The campaign has gathered over 21,000 signatures and needs 100,000 for a parliamentary debate.
- A separate petition is also pushing to increase the frozen Personal Allowance, which would also benefit pensioners.