Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to protect pensioners’ incomes in (a) Kettering and (b) England.

Justin Tomlinson

This Government wants all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement. We are committed to the ‘triple lock’, the guarantee that the basic and new State Pension will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings, price increases or 2.5%. From April 2016, the full basic State Pension will rise to £119.30 a week, an increase of £3.35 and the biggest real terms increase to the basic State Pension since 2001. This will benefit many of the 18000 recipients of State Pension in Kettering and the 10 million recipients in England.

For the poorest pensioners, from April 2016 Pension Credit will top up income to a guaranteed minimum level of £155.60 for a single person and £237.55 for couples. We are protecting key benefits for older people including Winter Fuel Payments, free eye tests, free NHS prescriptions, free bus passes and free television licences for those aged 75 and over.