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Pensioners still face
hardship over 10p tax debacle
Up to one million older women aged 60-64 will
still suffer as a result of the abolition of the 10p tax rate, Britain's
biggest pensioner organisation has claimed.
The National Pensioners Convention (NPC)
believes that even the compensation package announced today by the
Chancellor of Exchequer, will not be sufficient to reimburse all those women
who have seen their tax bills rise since April 1.
Dot Gibson, NPC vice president said: "Many women
pensioners are telling us how this tax change will have a serious impact on
their standard of living. One example is a 63-year-old widow who has a NHS
pension on top of her state pension bringing her total income to just
£11,000. Her company pension will rise but the increase in tax from 10% to
20% will mean she is now worse off than before."
"Millions of pensioners above 65 will also be hit. Someone with a taxable
income of just £6500 already pays over £1000 a year in tax - but will now be
asked to find a further £130 because of the abolition of the 10p tax rate."
"These
pensioners will receive no compensation whatsoever, whilst women aged 60-64
may not get enough through the blanket compensation package that's been
proposed to cover their losses in full. This whole episode has severely
damaged the government's standing with older people and the only way to
regain it will be to urgently tackle the real problems they face by raising
the basic state pension and restoring its link to earnings."
ENDS
For further information
contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
|
New research reveals
shocking reality of pensioner poverty
The National Pensioners Convention (NPC),
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, has claimed the latest pension
research from the UK Statistics Authority reveals the shocking reality of
pensioner hardship in 21st century Britain.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "For
years, successive governments told us that it was okay to keep the state
pension low because private company pension schemes would ensure
that everyone had a comfortable income in retirement. But these figures
prove that was a myth. A 100 years after the first ever state pension and
62% of pensioner couples and at least 50% of single pensioners are living
well below the official poverty line. It is a national scandal, yet the
government's only solution is to offer people means-tested benefits and
delay restoring the link with earnings until 2012. The country can afford to
give all older people a decent pension of at least £135 a week that goes up
each year in line with wages. After 100 years, it's time we ended pensioner
poverty for good."
ENDS
PENSION FACTS
- The state pension link with average
earnings was broken in 1980. Had the link remained, today's state pension
for an individual would now be worth £145.15 a week rather than £90.70.
- By the time the link is restored by
the government in 2012, 3m of today's pensioners will have already died.
- The national insruance fund
currently has a surplus balance of £46bn.
- Around 1.8m pensioners do not claim
the means-tested Pension Credit, despite being eligible.
- 1 in 5 pensioners live below the
official poverty line, the vast majority of them women.
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan
on 07940-357-608
Visit www.pension
100.co.uk for information about the NPC's pension campaign
|
Pensioners stage 25p
protest
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation is
today calling on all older people aged 80 and over to send the 25p weekly
age addition they receive, back to the Chancellor, in protest at the
government's continued failure to substantially raise the basic state
pension.
The National Pensioners Convention's (NPC) call
comes on the day the state pension is increased by just £3.40 a week extra.
But the additional 25p payment - first introduced in 1971 - is now seen by
many older people as insulting and derisory.
Thirty seven years ago, the extra weekly payment
for those aged 80 and over was set at 25p in line with the value of a bag of
coal. At the time, it was considered a valuable addition to the weekly state
pension of £5. Today, if it had risen relative to the state pension - it
would be worth around £4.50 a week.
But over the years, its continued neglect has
made it a symbol of discontent amongst Britain's elderly. Even pensions
minister Mike O'Brien acknowledged in a parliamentary debate last year that
the 25p payment was "an insult", after his mother had complained about it.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "There
are around 2.6m people aged 80 and over, and every week they receive this
pathetic payment which rubs their noses in the fact that their state
pension of £90.70 a week, is so pitifully low. Today, the age addition can't
even buy a 27p second class stamp. I think sending 25p back to the
Chancellor will show how angry pensioners really are."
"This year represents the centenary of the state
pension - yet 1 in 5 older people, particularly those older pensioners, are
living below the official poverty line. The government has said it will
restore the pension link to earnings in 2012, but by that time 3m of today's
pensioners will have already died. We need a decent state pension now, set
at around £135 a week, which allows all older people to live in dignity in
retirement."
ENDS
For further information contact Neil
Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
www.npcuk.org
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Pensioners criticise
Blair's free TV licence
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation - the
National Pensioners Convention (NPC) - has criticised the revelation that
former prime minister, Tony Blair, received a free TV licence.
Neil Duncan-Jordan, NPC spokesperson said:
"Most people have to wait until they reach 75 before they get a free TV
licence, and pensioners will be furious to learn that the former Prime
Minister was getting his paid for by the taxpayer. If politicians want
to enjoy these pensioner benefits they should also be prepared to live
on the state pension of just £90.70 a week."
ENDS
For more information contact Neil
Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
|
Local councils delay issue of bus passes
Hundreds of thousands of
pensioners in England have yet to receive their new bus pass, despite the
introduction on April 1 of the new free national bus travel scheme. The
delay has led to accusations of confusion and incompetence amongst a number
of local authorities, but the NPC is calling on all bus operators to honour
the old passes until the new ones come into force, to ensure that all
pensioners - wherever they live - are entitled to the new concession.
But whilst the new scheme is a welcome step towards the
NPC’s demand of free nationwide travel on all forms of public transport, it
does not yet include metros/trains and trams, travel before 9.30am or
community transport schemes such as dial-a-ride. Most notably, the scheme
also does not extend to other parts of the UK. Many local authorities have
complained that a lack of funding for the new concession from central
government will force them to cut other services or raise council tax. But
much of the problem lies with the bus companies overcharging them for
pensioner travel.
Peter Rayner, NPC transport adviser said: “The government
must ensure that the scheme is properly funded and regulated so that the
real benefits of free travel can be enjoyed by all pensioners right across
the country, and the delay in issuing bus passes in some areas gives even
more strength to the argument that we should have a national scheme
administered centrally.”
|
Press Release
For immediate use: 31.3.2008
Pensioners say new concessionary bus travel must go further
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation has welcomed the introduction
tomorrow (April 1) of free, off-peak bus travel for older people in
England, but has called on the government to open immediate talks with
the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Stormont to extend the
concession to all parts of the UK.
The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) has been at the forefront of
the campaign for concessionary travel for pensioners on all forms of
public transport since 1997, and is keen that the new scheme is not used
to portray pensioners as a drain on local government resources.
In a new briefing paper being issued tomorrow to over 1000 pensioner
organisations across the country, the NPC re-states the benefits of
concessionary travel as:
·
Enabling older people to continue to lead independent lives and
participate fully in their local communities
·
Reducing car usage and pollution
·
Boosting local economies with additional customers
·
Providing social inclusion that can reduce the cost and need for health
services
·
Increasing the demand for services for all members of the community
However, whilst the new scheme is an improvement on existing provision,
it still does not include community transport schemes such as
dial-a-ride, travel to hospital appointments before 9.30am, carers who
are accompanying disabled travellers, routes which have stops more than
15 miles apart, other countries in the UK or other forms of transport
such as metros/trains and trams.
Peter Rayner, NPC transport advisor said:
"The evidence showing the benefits of
offering free bus travel to those aged 60 and over is widely
acknowledged and includes greater independence and less social
exclusion, growth for local economies, improved services for fare paying
travellers by spreading the cost and reductions in demand for health and
social services. Now is the time to extend these benefits right across
the UK and on all forms of public transport. Nevertheless, older
people do not wish to gain at the expense of other younger members of
society, and any shortfall in funding for the scheme from central or
local government must not be used to portray pensioners as the problem."
"Many local councils
are rightly concerned about the somewhat
doubtful methods of calculation and assumptions on cost put
forward by bus operators. Many charge for a full journey from one
end of a route to another, when the passenger might only be
travelling a few stops. As a result of such sharp practices, costs
of the new scheme have been over estimated and local authorities
have started talking about having to make cuts in other services.
This is not what pensioners want and a national scheme should be
properly funded by central government, the grants for concessionary
travel should be ring-fenced to ensure the councils spend it
properly and the Department for Transport should have tighter
controls on the charges made by bus operators."
ENDS
Notes for editors
A copy of the April 2008 NPC briefing paper on the
Concessionary Bus Travel Act is available for download
HERE.
For further information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
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Pensioners call for halt to
Post Office closure programme
Britain's largest organisation of older people, the National Pensioners
Convention (NPC), is calling on MPs to vote today to suspend the closure
of 2500 local post offices.
Dot Gibson, NPC vice president said: "For millions of older people
living in both urban and rural areas, the post office provides a
lifeline not only to services, but also to community life and
information. The Government claims the network is unsustainable, but at
least £260m has been lost because ministers decided, against the wishes
of many older people, to pay pensions directly into bank accounts."
"Whilst the Government talks about giving people choice - the reality is
that these closures will prevent pensioners from getting their pensions
in a way and at a place that is most convenient. The closure programme
marks the break-up of our community life - and heralds the drive towards
more impersonal and remote services which do not best serve the older
generation who are without their own transport or access to computers.
We hope MPs will stand by their older constituents and defend the post
office network for the good of their communities."
ENDS
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
|
Pensioners will find cold
comfort from Budget
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners
Convention (NPC), made the following comment on today's Budget
statement:
Frank Cooper, NPC president said: "Millions of pensioners will
struggle to find anything in the Budget that will really help them
meet the rising costs of living or make the difficult choice of
whether to eat or heat. After 5 years of refusing to increase the
winter fuel allowance, the government has finally been forced by
growing pressure to give a small increase - but it is unlikely to be
enough to stop the rising scale of fuel poverty amongst older people
or end the scandalous number of winter deaths amongst the over 60s."
"Around 2.2m pensioner households already spend more than 10% of
their income on fuel bills - and an extra £50 just won't keep up
with the huge increases that have recently been announced by
the energy companies. The Chancellor's decision not to give an
across the board rise of £100 to all pensioners is also likely to
back fire. No-one can seriously believe that a 79-year-old's fuel
bill is any less than that of an 80-year-old, and it's about time
all pensioner households were getting a £400 winter fuel allowance."
"What is more significant about the Budget, is what the Chancellor
didn't say. Pensioners are furious with the government's refusal to
improve the state pension. Britain continues to have the least
adequate state pension in Europe and the promise to restore the link
with earnings is still at least 4 years away, by which time 3m of
today's pensioners will have died. Failing to mention this or the
need to address the rising council tax faced by millions of older
households will once again leave Britain's pensioners feeling like
they're the forgotten generation. Come the general election, the
grey vote may well look elsewhere."
ENDS
For more information contact: Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
|
Pensioners demand
a Budget for eating and heating
Britain's 11m older people will be keeping a
close eye on Alistair Darling's Budget this Wednesday, to see if he can
address the twin concerns of eating and heating.
According to the country's biggest pensioner
organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), the Chancellor will
have to announce a substantial improvement in pensions and the winter fuel
allowance if he wants to win back the support of older voters.
Frank Cooper, NPC president said: "This April,
the basic state pension will rise by just £3.40 (3.9%) to £90.70 a week.
Already it is amongst the lowest in Europe and the Government's reliance on
means-tested benefits has done little to help the 1 in 5 older people who
still live below the official poverty line. Three million of today's older
people will be dead before the Chancellor restores the link between pensions
and earnings in 2012, yet it would cost just £600m to bring it in now."
"In the last decade, 260,000 more older people
have died during the winter months than at any other times of the year. Yet
despite this and the huge rises in energy bills, the winter fuel allowance
has been frozen since 2003. For every 1% increase in charges a further
40,000 join the ranks of 1m pensioner households already suffering from fuel
poverty. It's a national scandal that older people are still literally dying
of cold."
"If the Chancellor wants to restore the faith of
pensioners in his government, he must raise the state pension by around £45,
restore the link to earnings now, and double the winter fuel allowance. If
not, the gap between pensioners and the rest of society will continue to
grow and come the general election, the grey vote may well look elsewhere."
ENDS
For more information contact: Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
|
|
Press Release
For immediate use: 22.2.2008
Record-breaking
surplus in National Insurance Fund should raise state pension
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation - the
National Pensioners Convention (NPC) - has today called on the government
to use the growing surplus in the National Insurance (NI) Fund to increase
the state pension above the official poverty level.
The call follows the publication of the latest
economic forecasts from the Government Actuary's Department, which show that
the surplus in the NI Fund has been rising by over two and a quarter times
that of expenditure, and has now reached a record-breaking £38bn. In just
five years, the surplus is forecast to top £114bn - the equivalent of 136%
of expenditure and substantially more than the 16.8% surplus balance
recommended for fiscal management.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "These
latest figures show that every month, employers and employees are paying
12.8% and 11% of salaries respectively in national insurance contributions -
but that money is not being used to pay higher pensions. Instead, the
government is using that money for purposes for which it was not intended.
Today's pensioners are effectively subsidising the economy by having their
state pensions kept well below the official poverty level."
"After 100 years of the state pension,
pensioners deserve more than the pitiful £87.30 a week they currently
receive, and the massive surplus in the national insurance fund should be
used to give everyone a pension above the official poverty level of £134 a
week. These latest figures prove that the money is there to end the need for
means-testing, restore the link between pensions and earnings now and give
real financial security to all 11m pensioners."
ENDS
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan
on 07940-357-608
Notes to editors
|
Pensioners call on government to intervene over rising energy profits
Britain’s biggest pensioner organisation – the National Pensioners
Convention (NPC) - has criticised today’s announcement by British Gas of
increased profits, and called on the government to intervene to prevent
energy companies gaining at the expense of vulnerable customers.
Frank
Cooper, NPC president said: “At a time when over 20,000 pensioners died last
winter due to the cold weather, it is obscene for any energy company to be
parading huge profits. Older people are constantly worried about whether or
not they can afford to heat their homes, and for British Gas to announce
both huge price increases and huge profits, only adds to this anxiety. It’s
time the government intervened to prevent energy companies getting rich at
the expense of vulnerable customers. The winter fuel allowance has been
frozen since 2003 and now needs to be doubled to at least £400 per
household, social tariffs should be standardised across the energy industry
and prices should be regulated to prevent such blatant profiteering.”
ENDS
For
more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
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NOTICE
From April the government intends to abolish the 10% tax rate, which
will
adversely affect many pensioners aged between 60 and 64. Download
this model letter, adapt it to your personal circumstances and send
it to your local MP. |
|
NEWS
The NPC has written to the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, urging him
to raise substantially (eg. double) the winter fuel allowance in the
forthcoming Budget.
The NPC has written to James
Purnell, the new secretary of state for work and pensions,
requesting a meeting to discuss the need for urgent improvements to
the state pension.
|
For publication
on: 23 January 2008
Two million workers face
poverty in retirement
Up to 2m workers, who are due to retire before April 6th
2010 could join the ranks of pensioners living in poverty,
according to Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the
National Pensioners Convention (NPC).
In a written parliamentary answer dated January 10th,
Pension Minister Mike O'Brien revealed that around 1.8m men
and women are expected to retire in the next two years with
30 years or less national insurance (NI) contributions, and
will miss out on the plans to reduce the number of years
needed in order to qualify for a full state pension. This
means they will join the 4m existing, mainly women
pensioners, who do not currently receive a full state
pension and have to rely on means-tested benefits in order
to get by.
The problem arises because, whilst the government intends to
reduce the number of qualifying years needed to get a full
state pension for men and women to 30, from 44 and 39
respectively, this will not come into effect until April 6th
2010.
This means that a man with 30 years' worth of NI
contributions retiring the day before the new rule comes
into force will receive just 69% of a full state pension
(£60.23 at today's value). For a woman, it will be just 77%
(£67.22 at today's value). But a day later, the same number
of contribution years will entitle them to a state pension
of 100% (£87.30 at today's value).
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "The government's
refusal to apply this new rule to existing pensioners and
those retiring in the next two years, is grossly unfair.
Millions of older women would benefit if they were properly
rewarded for the years they have paid national insurance,
but instead they are forced to rely on claiming means-tested
benefits. Ministers often talk about ending the cliff-edge
for people facing retirement - but they are introducing one
of the biggest barriers to making pensions fairer. Everyone
with 30 years' worth of contributions should be able to get
a full state pension, regardless of whether they retire
before the 6 April 2010 or after."
The news comes as the NPC is due to meet the Secretary of
State for Work and Pensions, Peter Hain, and a group of
cross party MPs on Wednesday, January 23 to call on them to
mark a century of state pensions in 2008 by raising the
existing pension above the poverty level and restoring its
link to earnings as a matter of urgency.
In 1908, the first state pension was introduced providing 5
shillings a week to all men and women aged 70 or over.
Despite it being means-tested, the pension marked a
significant advance in social policy and a beginning of the
end of the workhouse. But the NPC believes it is
unacceptable that 100 years ago the state pension was worth
around 25% of average earnings - compared to just 15% today.
As part of the NPC's year-long centenary campaign, MPs will
be asked to sign Early Day Motion 658 tabled by Vauxhall MP
Kate Hoey, which pays tribute to the pension pioneers and
demands the government improves the existing state pension
system.
ENDS
For further information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on
07940-357-608
Visit www.pension100.co.uk for more information on
the centenary of the state pension and the NPC's campaigns
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Press Release
For immediate use: 31.12.2007
Campaign marks 100 years of the
state pension
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation - the National
Pensioners Convention (NPC) - will today (1 January 2008)
launch a new 12-month campaign to mark a century of the
state pension and demand that today's payment is increased
by more than £40 a week for all in retirement.
Back in 1898, a number of individual social reformers,
backed by the trade union movement of the day, began a
campaign to secure a universal state pension.
A decade later, figures such as Rev Francis Herbert Stead -
a non-conformist social worker, Charles Booth - a Victorian
philanthropist, Margaret Bondfield a leading trade unionist
and Edward Cadbury - a successful businessman, were the
leaders of a nationwide campaign that had secured the first
ever state pension.
The Old Age Pensions Act was passed in August 1908, and on 1
January 1909 the first state pensions of 5 shillings a week
were paid at the post office to all men and women on
reaching 70 years of age.
Even though the pension was means-tested, it was clearly a
tremendous advance in social policy and represented the
first time that the state had recognised it had a
responsibility to look after those in old age.
Today, the NPC begins the first stage of its year-long
campaign to pay tribute to those original pension pioneers
and call for an increase in today's state pension, with the
launch of a new website at
www.pension100.co.uk.
Throughout the year there will also be rallies in the same
cities where public meetings were held a 100 years ago -
Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol
and London - as well as a national petition and a lobby of
parliament.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "We owe the original
pension pioneers a great debt of gratitude for securing the
very first state pension, that sought to end the threat of
the workhouse for millions of older people. But a hundred
years on and we still have over 2m pensioners living below
the poverty line and many more struggle to make ends meet.
In fact, today's state pension is worth even less in
relation to average wages than it was in 1908."
"We must use this centenary year to put pressure on the
government to raise the state pension, for all men and
women, above the poverty level of £134 a week and restore
its link to earnings as a matter of urgency. We must take up
the cause of the pension pioneers and finish what they
started by once and for all ending the fear of poverty in
old age."
ENDS
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on
07940-357-608
Pension facts & figures - then & now
1908
·
Non-contributory pension
·
Payable to
men and women at 70
·
5 shillings a
week: represented between 20-25% of average earnings
·
Means-tested
and based on character
2008
·
Contributory
pension
·
Payable to
men and women at 65 in 2024 and rising to 68 by 2044
·
£90.70
a week: represents around 15% of average earnings
·
Pension not
means-tested, but means-testing still exists for those who
need additional income
·
One in five of today's 11m
pensioners live below the official poverty line, the
vast majority of
them women. In 1891, 1.3m people were classed as paupers –
of which 31% were over 60-years-old
·
The government has said it
will restore the link between pensions and earnings in 2012,
but by that time 3m of today's pensioners will have died
·
Today's state pension of
£90.70 a week from April 2008 is widely regarded as the
least adequate in Europe
·
The National Insurance Fund
currently has a surplus of £38.4bn, which is forecast to
grow to £72bn by 2012. This money is primarily intended to
pay for state pensions, but today’s pensioners are being
denied a higher pension because the government is using the
money to fund other expenditure
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Press Release
For immediate use: 10 December 2007
Government plans to
reform social care for the elderly are dangerous and
ill-conceived
Britain's biggest pensioners' organisation, the National
Pensioners Convention (NPC), has labelled the government's plans
to reform the provision of social care for older people in their
own homes as 'dangerous and ill-conceived'.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "Proposing that the care
needs of some of our most vulnerable older people can be solved
through the use of personal budgets simply beggars belief. The
idea that effectively privatising the care of the elderly will
address the chronic underfunding of social care and the huge
unmet need, is dangerous and ill-conceived. The problems facing
nearly 1m older people are being avoided by the government
because they think this is a way of getting care on the cheap."
"Already around three quarters of all local authorities have cut
the services they provide to older people in their own homes, so
that now even those who need help getting out of bed in the
morning are losing out. The cost of an hour's care also varies
across the country, from £3.50 in Bradford to £18 in Brighton,
and means-testing still plagues the system. Yet nowhere in the
government's so called 'care revolution' has it said how any of
these issues will be addressed."
"One of things that has been clear since local councils
contracted out their care services is that the staff from the
private care providers constantly change, are under pressure to
cut corners and are not always properly trained. The shortages
of decent, properly run local authority home care cannot
possibly be helped by expanding the level of privatisation. The
government appears to be washing its hands of its responsibility
to look after those in need and that cannot be in the best
interests of Britain's most vulnerable pensioners."
ENDS
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‘Invisible’ protest takes campaign for pensioners’ rights to Westminster
Wednesday 24 October 2007
Over 1000 campaigners from across Britain will support an ‘invisible’ protest at Westminster on Wednesday October 24, as part of a nationwide campaign for pensioners’ rights.
The campaign, organised by Britain's biggest pensioner organisation - the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) - will highlight the concern that many older people feel their needs are being ignored by government, as if they were an 'invisible generation'.
To make their point, around 30 protestors will be carrying placards and dressing up in bandages, dark glasses and hats like the invisible man in the many film versions of HG Wells’s classic story, before joining a rally in the Methodist Central Hall at 12 noon and a lobby of MPs in the afternoon.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "This demonstration comes at a time when pensioners' anger is growing at the way in which their needs are being overlooked. Three million older people will have died before the government restores the link with earnings and the £3.40 a week rise in the state pension
next year will do nothing to end the poverty felt by 1 in 5 older people. The real cost of inflation felt by millions of older people is so high that such a small increase will be immediately swallowed up by council tax, utility bills and the rising costs of living."
"In recent weeks there has also been much talk about the lack of dignity in the care of older people and how they still have to pay for help with eating, washing or going to the toilet. There has been alot of talk - but older people are still being treated like second-class citizens. Every year around 70,000 people have to sell their homes in order
to pay for long-term care, whilst many more have been denied help in their own homes because of cuts in services or rising charges."
"But we are no longer prepared to be ignored - we must make our voices heard. That is why it is vital that we establish a set of basic and fundamental rights which protect all older people from discrimination, neglect and abuse, as well as providing them with dignity in care and financial security in retirement.”
"Our campaigning will show that pensioners can be a powerful group when they get together - especially when it's election time. Our MPs should take note that if they want to keep their jobs - they should do more for the older generation."
As part of the protest, the NPC is advocating the introduction of a Pensioners’ Charter that would encompass a number of basic rights for all older people. This would include:
Raising the basic state pension for all men and women above the official poverty level, by taking it immediately from £87.30 to £119 a week and rising to £134
Restoring the link between pensions and earnings in 2008 and not 2012
Introducing free social and long-term care
Outlawing age discrimination in the provision of goods, services and benefits
Providing free nationwide travel
Enabling all pensioners to have a warm and comfortable home by the provision of a substantial fuel allowance and other measures
PROGRAMME FOR THE DAY
A photo-opportunity of the 'invisible' protestors has been organised for 11.30am, opposite the House of Lords, near Abingdon Green.
From 12-1pm, there will be a rally in the Methodist Central Hall (Lecture Hall), Storey's Gate, Westminster. The speakers will include:
Kelvin Hopkins MP
Kate Hoey MP
Mark Serwotka PCS General Secretary
Tony Kearns CWU Deputy General Secretary
Hilary Fisher End Child Poverty
Joe Harris NPC General Secretary
From 1pm onwards campaigners will make their way across to the House of Commons, where the lobby will take place in the Westminster Hall.
ENDS
There will be a large number of banners and placards on display
For further information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on: 07940-357-608 or by visiting www.npcuk.org
PENSIONER FACTS & FIGURES
One in five of pensioners live below the official poverty line
Around 47% of all pensioners fail to claim means-tested benefits
73% of pensioners believe age discrimination affects their everday lives
One in 40 older people face abuse in their own homes
Since 1997, 260,000 more older people have died during the winter months than at other times of the year
Since 2002/3 gas bills have risen by 48.7%, electricity by 32%, water by 12.6% and the state pension by just 8.7%
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Press Release
For immediate use: 18 October 2007
State pension increase fuels older people's anger
Following today's announcement by the Chancellor of a 3.9% increase in the basic state pension from next April, Joe Harris, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) made the following statement:
"This increase will fuel the anger already felt by millions of older people and do absolutely nothing to end the scandal of pensioner poverty. It is widely acknowledged that the real rate of inflation faced by pensioners is double the average figure because the items on which they spend their money, like food and fuel bills, have increased greatly over the last few months."
"The biggest losers will be those women who rely on their husband's contributions to get their pension, because they will get just £2.05 a week - even less than the full £3.40 that's been awarded."
"What will make pensioners even more angry is that they seem to have been forgotten by ministers. The government's new Pension Act does nothing for today's 11m pensioners apart from telling them to wait until 2012 for the restoration of the link with earnings and in the meantime condemning them to a retirement on means-tested benefits. But in five years' time, 3m of today's pensioners will be dead and means-testing continues to fail to reach the very poorest in society - with around
1.8m people reluctant to claim because the system is so complicated and demeaning. Today's announcement is therefore further proof that the government treats the older generation like second-class citizens."
"What pensioners want is a decent state pension set above the poverty level - starting at £119 and rising to £134 a week - coupled with a restoration of the link with earnings now."
The NPC is staging a rally and lobby of parliament on Wednesday October 24, and pensions will be one of the main issues of concern. Over 1000 pensioners from across the country are expected to attend and put pressure on their MPs to back the NPC's call for a higher basic state pension for all over 60s.
ENDS
For further information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-6078
· The
full basic state pension is £87.30 a week for a single pensioner, £139.60 a week for a couple · A
woman who receives a state pension based on her husband’s contributions receives up to £52.30 a week · As a
percentage of average earnings, the basic state pension for a single pensioner currently represents just 15.7% (the least adequate in Europe). By 2012, this figure is expected to have fallen to the lowest ever at 14.2% · The
government’s recognised poverty level is set at 60% of the median population income. This is currently £134 a week before housing costs for a single pensioner · Around
4.1m pensioners are entitled to Pension Credit, but around 1.6m do not claim · Had
the link between the state pension and average earnings not been broken in 1980, the full state pension for a single pensioner would now be £58.50 a week higher at £142.75 - equal to 25.6% of average earnings · If the
government had restored the link to earnings at the first opportunity after coming to power in 1997, the full state pension for a single pensioner would now be £24.05 a week higher at £108.30 · It
would cost up to £600m this year to restore the link to the state pension at its current level and around £11bn to pay every pensioner a state pension of £119.05 a week · If the
link to earnings is restored in 2012, it will give just £1.40 a week more that year to a full state pension than pensioners would have got anyway under the present system, and by that time, the pension will have fallen to around £75 a week (in today’s terms) · The
surplus in the National Insurance Fund is currently £38.4bn and is forecast to rise to: £43.2bn in 2007/8, £49.2bn in 2008/9, £55.9bn in 2009/10, £64bn in 2010/11 and £74.1bn in 2011/12 By this time, the surplus balance will represent 91% of the Fund’s annual expenditure. In a recent letter from the Paymaster General, Dawn Primarolo, she admits the government is investing the surplus balance in government gilts and using the
money to fund public expenditure unrelated to the purposes of the National Insurance Fund
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Press Release
For immediate use: 5 October 2007
Goverment abandons women pensioners to poverty
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has accused the government of abandoning a generation of women pensioner to poverty in retirement.
The accusation follows the publication of a written parliamentary answer on 1 October 2007 by pensions minister Mike O'Brien, to a question asked by Lib Dem MP Steve Webb.
In the answer, Mr O'Brien reveals that 754,000 female pensioners aged between 60 and 69 do not receive any state pension at all because they lack the minimum 25% of National Insurance contributions required to qualify. This equates to having less than 9 and three quarter years of payments.
Dot Gibson, NPC vice president said: "Five million older women get less than a full state pension, and now it appears that at least one million of those get absolutely nothing. The government may think its new Pension Act has solved the problem - but there is nothing in the legislation to help those who have already retired. These women are an abandoned generation that the government has failed to help. Around one in five older people still live below the official poverty line and
whilst ministers talk of respect and dignity - there can be no dignity until all pensioners - men and women - get a decent state pension as of right that takes them out of means-testing and financial insecurity."
The NPC is staging a rally and lobby of parliament on 24 October 2007 in support of pensioners' rights, including the call for the basic state pension to be set above the poverty level of £134 a week, paid to all and linked to average earnings as a matter of urgency.
ENDS
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
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Press Statement
For immediate use: 3 October 2007
Evidence shows means-testing and pensioners don't mix
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has called on the government to scrap means-tested benefits for the over 60s and replace them with a higher, universal state pension.
Following new research from Age Concern on the reasons why pensioners don't claim means-tested benefits, the NPC's general secretary Joe Harris said: "It is clear that means-testing and pensioners simply don't mix. Many older people feel the whole process of having to parade their poverty in order to get a little bit extra to live on is demeaning, whilst others fear getting involved with officialdom or are confused by the complexity of making a claim. That is why around 1.8m pensioners
who are eligible for Pension Credit don't claim it - proving that means-tested benefits fail to reach the very people they are supposed to help. Means-testing costs ten times as much to administer as a universal payment, remains tremendously unpopular and is proven to be ineffective at getting money to those who need it most. The answer is to scrap means-tested benefits and give all pensioners a decent state pension set above the poverty level."
ENDS
For more information contact: Neil Duncan-Jordan 07940-357-608
For more information on the NPC and its campaigns visit www.npcuk.org
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Press Statement
For immediate use: 2 October 2007
Pensioners condemn first wave of post office closures
Britain's biggest pensioners organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has condemned today's announcement that 180 post offices have been earmarked for closure in Kent, East Yorkshire and East Midlands, as part of the government's plans to axe 2500 branches over the next 18 months.
Dot Gibson, NPC vice president said: "These closures will have a devastating impact on the lives of older people who rely on their post offices not only to carry out their financial affairs and find out about other services, but also as a lifeline to the wider community. Ministers may claim that the post office is losing money, but at least £260m was taken away from the network when the government scrapped the pension book and started paying pensions directly into bank accounts.
Today's announcement of a six week consultation period has little to do with getting people's views - and more to do with with getting things done without giving anyone the chance to object. The closure programme marks the break-up of our community life - and heralds the drive towards more impersonal and remote services which do not best serve the older generation who are without their own transport or access to computers."
ENDS
For more information contact: Neil Duncan-Jordan 07940-357-608
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An edited version of this letter appeared in the Guardian newspaper 26 September 2007:
During a speech to the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth in 1993, Gordon Brown said he wanted to end the means-testing of Britain's elderly. For the last decade, he has been the architect of the most widespread use of means-testing in post-war history - with almost 50% of all older people subject to this demeaning system.
This year, he said he would restore the link between the state pension and earnings - but he didn't say when. If we wait until 2012, three million of today's pensioners will have already died and the state pension's value will be worth (at today's prices) around £71 a week.
Older people will judge the prime minister not on what he says - but on what he does, and if his record on means-testing is anything to go by, they will once again feel betrayed.
Dot Gibson
Vice President
National Pensioners Convention
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Press Release
For immediate use: 26 September 2007
NPC calls for an urgent improvement in practice and attitudes towards pensioner patients
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), welcomed the latest report from the Healthcare Commission into dignity in care for older people in hospital (to be published on 27 Sept 2007), but called for an urgent improvement in practice and attitudes towards pensioner patients.
Pat Healy, chair of the NPC's health working party said: "Too often older people are frightened of going into hospital because they feel they will be treated like second-class citizens. The views of pensioner patients can often be ignored and they can even be excluded from discussions about their treatment."
"Mixed-sex wards for the elderly are still a feature in many hospitals and evidence shows that malnutrition rates amongst pensioners can actually rise after the patient has been in hospital."
"To tackle this not only requires more resources and training of those responsible for looking after older people in hospital, but also a significant change of attitudes. Having grey hair and a free bus pass should not mean you've got no opinions or rights as a human being. In fact, pensioner patients need more personal care and attention in order to feel they are not being ignored. Pensioners are the biggest users of the health service - they helped create it after the war - and
they don't deserve to be let down by it."
ENDS
For more information contact: Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
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Pensioners' Charter of Rights
Kelvin Hopkins MP has put down an Early Day Motion number 1987 on behalf of the NPC, calling for a Pensioners' Charter of Rights. Supporters are asked to write to their MPs (House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA) and ask them to sign it when they return to Westminster after the summer recess.
Details of the EDM are as follows:
That this House draws attention to the Pensioners' Charter of Rights created by the National Pensioners Convention; expresses in particular its strong support for the Charter's demands for the state pension to be set above the official poverty level for all men and women and for all long-term and social care to be provided free; and calls on the Government to respond positively to the Charter's contents.
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Latest DWP figures show means-testing doesn't work
Britain's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has today claimed that the latest annual report of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), supports the claim that means-tested benefits are not reaching the poorest members of society.
In the report from the National Audit Office into the DWP's accounts for 2006-07, official errors are revealed amounting to £850m. The NPC believes a great deal of this is due to the continued complexity of the means-tested Pension Credit system.
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "Despite years of evidence showing that only around 75% of older people ever claim benefits, the government refuses to admit that means-testing and pensioners simply don't mix. Today's report shows that the Pension Credit remains a complicated, costly and demeaning way of helping Britain's elderly. Older people don't want to have to parade their poverty in order to receive what should be theirs by right. The basic state pension must be raised to
at least the level of the Pension Credit - £119 a week - and paid to all pensioners."
ENDS
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on 07940-357-608
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For immediate use: 11 July 2007
Pensioners say Health and Social Care Bill must go further
Britain's biggest pensioners' organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has made the following comment on the Prime Minister's statement in the House of Commons today:
Joe Harris, NPC general secretary said: "Social care in Britain is in crisis. In virtually every local authority area pensioners who can't get out of bed in the morning without assistance are being denied the help they need because councils do not have the funds to provide the services. As a result, social services departments have tightened the criteria to access help and hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people are struggling to live by relying friends and family."
"Mr Brown's proposed Health and Social Care Bill seems to focus on regulation and standards - but what is needed is improved funding and greater access. It's no good having a wonderful service if only a handful of people can use it. More money is needed to help older people remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible, rather than being institutionalised. The means-testing of care has denied many older people the everyday assistance they need - and proper dignity in
care will only come when individuals can access good quality services, free of charge."
ENDS
For more information contact Neil Duncan-Jordan on Tel: 07940-357-608
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Press Release
For immediate use: 10 July 2007
NPC criticise cut in Council Tax Benefit administration as a "hit below the belt" for millions of older people
Britain's biggest pensioners' organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has criticised the government's proposed 5 per cent cut in council tax benefit administration as a "hit below the belt" for millions of older people.
Frank Cooper, NPC president said: "The plans by the Department for Work and Pensions to cut the services to assist individuals claiming council tax benefit fly in the face of the government's aim of helping the poorest in society and will be seen by many older people as a hit below the belt. Already, around two million pensioners fail to make a claim and at best, take-up rates are around 63 per cent. But the real problem of take-up lies in the fact that these benefits are means-tested,
and older people and means-testing simply don't mix. The council tax remains unfairly based on property values and should be replaced with a system better related to income."
ENDS
For more information contact: Neil Duncan-Jordan 07940-357-608
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Pensioners condemn Law Lords' ruling on human rights in care homes
Britain's biggest pensioners' organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has described today's ruling by the Law Lords to exclude residents in private care homes from the protection of the Human Rights Act as "scandalous and incomprehensible".
Dot Gibson, NPC vice president said: "The law is worthless if it cannot protect the most vulnerable members of our society, and to have a situation where one set of residents in local authority care homes are covered by the Human Rights Act and those in private homes are not is absolutely scandalous and incomprehensible."
"What makes this case even more bizarre is that the 84-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer who brought the case before the courts is actually having her care funded by her local council. The only difference is she does not live in a council owned building."
"The care and protection of Britain's elderly is now so serious that the government should immediately consider introducing new legal protection for those receiving care and an independent advocacy service that can represent those who are frail and vulnerable. Society has to realise that care home residents need greater protection from the law - not less, and today's decision is a step backwards in the fight for dignity in retirement."
Up to Date Campaign News:
Pensions
The new Pensions Bill completed its passage through the House of Commons at the end of April. At the heart of the Bill are the proposals to raise the retirement age to 68 by 2046 and restore the link between pensions and earnings by 2012 at the earliest. The NPC has been busy lobbying MPs and Lords to amend the Bill so that the link would be introduced in April next year and the level of the basic state pension raised for everyone to £119 a week. But during the last debate in the
Commons, ministers used a procedural device to prevent any amendments from being discussed. The Bill now moves to the Lords.
The NPC continues to highlight the fact that the National Insurance Fund has a growing surplus of around £38bn - which is set to rise to over £70bn by 2012. Britain has the fourth strongest economy in the world, yet the most inadequate pension in Europe.
To find out more about the NPC's campaign on pensions and how to lobby your MP on the Pensions Bill make sure you attend the nation | |
What
is the NPC
