Overview
- Pension provider Aegon proposes allowing people to claim the State Pension up to three years early for a reduced annual amount, citing health and life-expectancy inequalities, while former minister Steve Webb warns it could deepen pensioner poverty.
- A petition urges the government to abolish the Basic State Pension, move 8.1 million older pensioners onto the New State Pension and link it to average earnings, but it has around 358 signatures with a 13 December deadline.
- The ONS triple lock calculation sets a 4.8% uprating for 2026/27, taking the full New State Pension to £241.30 a week and the Basic to £184.90, with confirmation due in the 26 November Budget.
- HMRC figures reported by AJ Bell indicate about 1.16 million pensioners will pay tax on savings interest in 2025/26, nearly half of the 2.64 million taxpayers facing such bills as higher rates and frozen thresholds bite.
- A separate petition to create a pensioner-specific tax code doubling the personal allowance has passed 10,000 signatures, triggering a required Treasury response.