Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:29 pm Post subject: £5 per week more from next April!
From next April, individuals on pension credits will be £5 a week better off and couples will have their allowance boosted by £7.65.
The means-tested benefit for Britain's poorest pensioners is rising in line with earnings' increases.
It makes an annual increase of £260 for single pensioners boosting the pension credit to £6,450 a year. Couples will see a rise of £390 to £9,846.20 a year.
However, campaigners for the elderly said that these measures did not address the underlying financial issues facing millions of pensioners across the country.
Anna Pearson, policy manager at Help the Aged, says: 'The predicted increases merely reinforce the regrettable reliance on meanstested benefits which shapes the lives of too many older people.
'We believe they should be paid automatically, as 1.8million pensioners do not claim the credits they are entitled to.
'We are also disappointed that there were no increases in housing and council tax benefits.'
Last night, widow Rita Young dismissedthe increase in pension credit as a 'joke'.
Mrs Young, 71, said: 'When I put the extra money against the increase in the cost of living over the year, this will mean almost nothing.
'One small rise in transport costs or council tax will all but wipe it out.
'We need a proper living wage, and this simply isn't good enough from the Government.'
Mrs Young, from Peterborough, was widowed three years ago.
Her 64-year-old husband Gordon had been disabled since 1993.
She currently receives £140.51 a week in pension and pension credit, but has to pay the £6.92 a month in rent to the council and £24 a year in council tax. She also receives £200 winter fuel allowance, but has to pay more than £500 a year on gas and electricity.
She added: 'The pension credit is a farce.
'Without it I would not have to worry about rent and council tax because I would not be receiving enough money to be eligible for these charges.
'It's just pushing paper around and almost costs more than it's worth. When you start on such a low income, a £5 increase is a joke really.
'We are one of the richest countries in the world. Why can't we look after our pensioners?'
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
