2009 Pension Increase

I believe it's April, but this year, all pensioners will get the increase in January.

hansi wrote: »

I believe it's April, but this year, all pensioners will get the increase in January.

Not exactly - if you are deferring your pension you don't get the Christmas bonus, nor this £60 in January, sadly.

Had I known that, I might have made a decision to take the pension earlier.

Regards
Jen
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If you don't get a full pension (my d/w only gets 80% of a full pension) do you then only get the same percentage of the £60?

dwileflunker wrote: »

If you don't get a full pension (my d/w only gets 80% of a full pension) do you then only get the same percentage of the £60?

My understanding is that everyone drawing State Pension gets the £60 whether they draw more or less than the basic.

I was guessing that the govt settled on sixty quid as they are paying some extra benefits from January and this amount is roughly what a pensioner on basic rate would have picked up from Jan to April.

thefenman wrote: »

The following is part of the Pre-budget report on 24th November. It is the only reference I can find anywhere to the proposed increases in pensions . . . .

The Chancellor, Alistair Darling is speaking.

I can also confirm that state pensions will increase in line with the highest rate of inflation this year. This will increase the basic state pension for a single person from £90.70 to £95.25—an increase of £4.55 a week. Now that inflation is expected to fall quickly, pensioners should see a real benefit.

I do not want people to have to wait for this extra money. I want them to get it as quickly as possible, which will benefit them as well as the economy. So families will not have to wait until April to receive their increase in child benefit. Instead, they will start to get it in January—three months early.

I want to do the same for pensioners. Pensioners are already getting the winter fuel payment—increased again this year. However, I want to do more. So I will ensure that every pensioner gets a one-off payment of £60, on top of the £10 Christmas bonus, from January. For couples, that figure will be £120, also paid from January. That £70 payment will also go to children with disabilities.

The quote is from Hansard.

The increase works out at about 5%

Yes, just to mention - to no-one in particular - that this 5% is legally-required, not a lovely present from the Chancellor, and perhaps the reason for the £60 to all pensioners is to be able to say that Labour gave extra this year, but they must give the 5% because that was the inflation rate in September 08.

Also, just to repeat, in case anyone has been deferring their pension (as I have), that it's not every pensioner getting this - I'm not as I am deferring my pension. Had I known that at the time of the pre-budget speech, I might have stopped the deferral in time for this and the Christmas bonus.

Sorry to go on about this. I am a wee bit cross that I will miss out. Also, sorry that this doesn't answer the proportionate question. I wonder! I hope someone will post when the £60 comes through.

Regards
Jen
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