New State Pension payment delay warning for people reaching retirement age this year

Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil’s new side project Empire State Bastard have shared their first teaser of music.The project, which also includes Biffy’s touring guitarist Mike Vennart, posted a short clip on Instagram today (February 24), which you can listen to below.Neil previously spoke about the project during an In Conversation video chat with NME, where he said he had four albums lined up with Biffy Clyro, Marmaduke Duke, Empire State Bastard and Tippie Toes.He said at the time: “We’ve got the new Biffy record, Marmaduke Duke’s ‘Death Of The Duke’, then we’ve got Tippie Toes which is a mong-ageddon drone project where you can just take some valium and chill out, and then a grindcore extreme metal album called ‘Empire State Bastard’. Honestly, it’s the one thing getting me through not touring – just knowing I can spend the year making new music.”A post shared by Empire State Bastard (@esb666_)Neil continued: “I like putting myself in these positions where I’m like, ‘I should never be doing this, so this is what I’m going to do’.

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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been urged to do more to clarify when people can expect to retire and receive their state pension.

A former pensions minister has warned the Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign (WASPI) that they are likely to receive “tiny bits of compensation” and not the “thousands and thousands” they may be expecting once the Parliamentary Ombudsman has released its final report.

Thania Garcia Chuck Jackson, a vocalist of the doo-wop group Del-Vikings and the singer in Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard’s “Any Day Now,” died on Feb. 16 in Atlanta. He was 85. News of his passing was confirmed in a Facebook post by Ady Croasdell of Ace Records’ Kent Records division, a UK label that had been reissuing his recordings. No cause of death was given. “There are confirmed reports that one of the very greatest soul singers of all time, Chuck Jackson, died on February 16th,” Croasdell wrote. “His 60s and 70s recordings are hugely important works, revered as much now as on release…His passing will be deeply felt around the world.”

The latest figures from Social Security Scotland show that at the end of February, 2022 there were 124,081 people living in Scotland receiving additional financial support through Attendance Allowance. Across Great Britain, there are now more than 1.5 million people over State Pension age getting either £61.85 or £92.40 each week through the benefit.

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that by the end of October, there were more than three million people across the UK claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP), including 329,334 living in Scotland. The figures also show that nearly half a million people of State Pension age are also in receipt of PIP.

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Basic and New State Pension payments will soon increase by 10.1 per cent for some 12.6 million older people across the country, including around one million living in Scotland. The honouring of the Triple Lock rule means that older people are set for an income boost of up to £75 per month from April.

The annual benefits uprating was approved in Parliament last week, which means that most benefits and State Pension will rise by 10.1 per cent in April. During the debate before the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2023 was submitted to the House of Commons, several MPs called on the UK Government not to forget the plight of WASPI women.

An estimated 19.2 million families and 39.8 million individuals across Great Britain currently in receipt of State Pension or benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will see their payments go up by 10.1 per cent later this year.

State Pension payments are set to increase by 10.1 per cent from April for merely 12.5 million people across Great Britain, including 992,052 living in Scotland. However, despite a record-breaking rise in payments of the contributory benefit, it is estimated that over 1.8 million pensioners are receiving less than £100 per week in State Pension payments.

The annual benefits uprating was approved in Parliament earlier this week, which means that most benefits and State Pension will rise by 10.1 per cent in April. During the debate before the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2023 was passed, the SNP’s David Linden pressed for change within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The cost of living crisis squeezed household budgets to breaking point in 2022 and shows little sign of easing up this year as energy bills continue to rise and inflation remains in the double digits.

State Pension provides essential financial support for nearly 12.5 million older people across Great Britain, including 981,399 living in Scotland. This regular payment is available for those who have reached the UK Government’s eligible retirement age, which is now 66 for both men and women, and have paid at least 10 years' worth of National Insurance Contributions.

Two Scottish MPs have urged the UK Government not to make the same mistake with future State Pension age change communication that has been felt by millions of women born in the 1950s. Some 3.8 million women across Great Britain missed out on State Pension payments due to the change in retirement age from 60 to 65 between 2016 and 2018 and then to 66, for both men and women in October, 2020.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra have announced that they will release a new album, titled ‘V’, next month. They will also be in the UK for tour dates in May.The album was several years in the making, Ruban Nielson having begun work on a new set of tracks with his brother Kody in the early days of the pandemic.But when an uncle in Hawaii fell ill, he, his mother and another uncle moved over there to care for him.

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Hundreds of thousands of older Brits living abroad are going to miss out on the financial boost from the return of the State Pension triple lock, warns the CEO and founder of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory, asset management and fintech organisations.

If you're looking to get in touch with your roots, a new series of virtual talks is designed to help people trace their Scottish ancestors.