People of State Pension age on disability benefits may be due extra top-up of £326 each month

Sir Stephen Timms, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, has written to Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride, following an oral evidence session last week with the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) Campaign and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) on the findings in its final report into changes made to the State Pension age for millions of women born in the 1950s.

More than 59,500 people have signed an online petition calling for a ‘universal’ weekly State Pension payment of nearly £550 to bring into line with the National Living Wage. Petition creator Michael Thompson also suggests making the option to claim State Pension available to everyone from the age of 60 - six years lower than the current official age of retirement of 66.

The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that at the end of August 2023, more than 1.5 million older people were receiving additional financial support through Attendance Allowance, including over 136,200 living in Scotland. This is a significant increase of 36,061 on the number of people claiming the non-means tested benefit in the previous quarter, ending in May 2023.

The next bank holiday takes place on May 27 which means some people will receive their scheduled State Pension or benefit payment early. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has already published updated payment date details for Tax Credits and Child Benefit, while the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Social Security Scotland are expected to announce similar changes soon.

The Scottish Government will replace Winter Fuel Payments with a new devolved lump sum later this year. Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP) is set to be provided on a like-for-like basis to its Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) counterpart and paid to everyone over the State Pension age every year.

Evri, the UK's largest dedicated parcel delivery company, has issued a fresh warning regarding fake messages intending to defraud innocent customers.

A new online petition is calling for all people over the official age of retirement (66) to be paid the New State Pension weekly rate of £221.20, some £884.80 every four-week pay period. At present, those who reached retirement age before April 6, 2016 are only eligible for the Basic State Pension, which is worth up to £169.50 each week, some £678 every pay period.

More than 8,500 people have signed an online petition calling for a public inquiry to be held into changes made to the State Pension age for women. Petition creator Kay Clarke argues that increases to the State Pension age have left many women in “financial and mental despair” and believes that an inquiry “is necessary to expose the truth”.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) started writing to older men and women in September 2023, whose National Insurance (NI) records may have been affected by missing periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), resulting in a shortfall in their State Pension payments.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has told MPs that he “understands the strong feelings” across Parliament over the lack of response to the recently published Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) final report into the impact of changes to the State Pension age for women born in the 1950s. During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, he acknowledged the “desire for urgency in addressing them” but added that an update “will be given to the House once those findings have been fully considered”.

The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the State Pension is providing essential financial support for nearly 12.7 million people across Great Britain, including more than one million living in Scotland. This regular payment is now worth up to £221.20 per week for those on the New State Pension (claimed after April 6, 2016), or £169.50 each week for the Basic State Pension (Category A or B).

Older people providing care during term-time or school holidays for children under the age of 12 may be able to boost State Pension payments by more than £6,000 over a typical 20-year retirement period. A single extra National Insurance credit currently adds around £303-a-year on to the full, New State Pension.

Hundreds of thousands of older women are due to receive a letter from HM Revenue and Customs letting them know their National Insurance (NI) record may contain missing periods of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) which in turn has affected the level of Basic or New State Pension they are entitled to. The Treasury started issuing these letters in September last year and is working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to correct any administration errors as quickly as possible.

More than 1.5 million older people claiming Attendance Allowance are set for a significant income boost this year now that the annual Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) uprating has been applied. On top of the 6.7 per cent increase, both the New and Basic State Pension have risen by 8.5 per cent.

The latest Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures indicate that fraud and error in the benefit system is falling after the UK Government restated its determination to drive levels down further and protect taxpayers’ money. The most-recent national statistics show that in the 2022/23 financial year, fraud and error rates fell to 3.6 per cent (£8.3 billion) from 4.0 per cent (£8.7 billion) - figures for 2023/24 are due to be published next month.

MSPs have backed the Scottish Government’s call for “compensation in full” to be paid to women impacted by changes to their State Pension age. In a Holyrood debate on Wednesday, the Scottish Parliament voted by 75 votes to zero, with 52 abstentions, which included Scottish Labour.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has said that he can “rule out” raising the State Pension age to fund the UK Government’s plan to abolish National Insurance (NI) contributions, but added that the policy will take “a number of Parliaments” to achieve. His comments came just hours after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak assured MPs that State Pension payments would not be cut to fund his ambition to scrap NI contributions.

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show the State Pension currently provides regular financial support for nearly 12.7 million older people across the country, including over one million retirees living in Scotland. This payment is available for those who have reached the UK Government’s eligible retirement age, which is currently 66 for men and women, and have paid at least 10 years' worth of National Insurance Contributions.

The UK Government has rejected calls in an online petition to scrap the income tax threshold for people in receipt of the State Pension or benefits. More than 20,300 people have signed the e-petition created by Kenneth Bardsley, who argues that the taxation is “punishing pensioners and those on some benefits” and “pushing people even deeper into poverty”.

When filmmakers Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss first spoke with friends about the focus of their Apple TV+ documentary Girls State — a companion piece to their Emmy- and Sundance-winning 2020 documentary Boys State — they were surprised to hear about the expectations it conjured in their minds.