Older people lobby parliament to increase state pension

An estimated 1000 pensioners are lobbying parliament today in protest against the government’s failure to increase the value of the basic state pension immediately.

The National Pensioners Convention lobby will call for an increase in the basic state pension from £84.25 to £114 a week, an immediate restoration of the link with earnings and to make entitlement universal, rather than contribution-based.

They claim the plans in this year’s white paper on pensions, which include restoring the earnings link in 2012, will not help today’s pensioners.

Earlier today, the NPC held a protest to illustrate its claim that 3 million pensioners will die before the government restores the link with earnings, by having 50 people dressed as skeletons.