Keir Starmer has found himself under fire after making a bold but misleading claim about pensioners during Prime Minister’s Questions. The Prime Minister was defending Labour’s recent U-turn on the Winter Fuel Payment, but ended up overstating the benefits most pensioners are supposedly receiving.
It all kicked off when opposition leader Kemi Badenoch called it “laughable” that Labour had backtracked on their original plan to limit the Winter Fuel Payment. Initially, Labour had announced that only those pensioners on certain means-tested benefits like Pension Credit would qualify. But now the policy’s been reversed again with all state pensioners back in line to receive it, although anyone earning £35,000 or more will have to repay the amount, reported the Express.
Trying to shift the focus, Starmer reeled off a list of what he described as Labour’s achievements, including their commitment to keeping the triple lock. He told the Commons the Government is sticking with it and claimed “that is £470 for most pensioners,” referring to the rise in the state pension that kicked in this April.
But here’s the problem that £470 figure only applies to those receiving the full new state pension, which increased from £221.20 to £230.25 a week in April. That boost works out to around £470 a year. However, only a fraction of pensioners are actually receiving that amount.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, around 12.95 million people are currently claiming the state pension but only about 4.38 million of them are on the new version. Even fewer are on the full new amount.
In fact, figures published last August by Royal London suggested only 1.7 million people were receiving the full new state pension at that time. While that number has probably grown slightly since, it still falls far short of “most” pensioners.
The DWP’s own latest figures make it even clearer. As of August 2024, the average weekly payment for those on the new state pension was just £207.64 almost £30 less per week than the full rate Starmer quoted. And for those still on the basic state pension, the weekly average was even lower at £199.12.
So while the £470 figure makes for a nice soundbite, it just doesn’t reflect the reality for the majority of pensioners across the country.
How much someone receives in state pension depends entirely on their National Insurance record. You typically need 30 qualifying years for the full basic state pension (currently £176.45 a week) or 35 years to get the full new one.
It’s worth checking whether you have any gaps in your NI contributions, as plugging those could mean a meaningful increase to your future pension income. You can use the state pension forecast tool on the Government’s website to see what you’re likely to receive when you retire.
Starmer’s statement may have been an attempt to reassure, but it’s ended up exposing just how few pensioners are actually getting the full amount and how complicated the system really is behind the headlines.
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