A petition is calling for certain people to be able to claim their State Pension “immediately” as the age is set to be increased next year
An online petition is calling for the government to lower the State Pension age for people claiming disability benefits. The petition argues that people with a disability over a certain age will not find employment before they start receiving their pension and should be given the choice to claim “immediately”.
George Bolgar, the creator of the petition, suggests that anyone over 60 with a disability “who has been unemployed for at least five years should be given the choice to retire and claim the State Pension immediately”.
The petition’s statement reads: “We think that any disabled person aged 60 who has been unemployed for at least five years should be given the choice to retire and claim the State Pension immediately,” the Express reports.
It comes as the State Pension age is set to go up from to 67 between 2026 and 2028 for people born in certain years. Currently, the State Pension age is set at 66 for both men and women.
If the petition gets 10,000 signatures it will prompt a formal reply from the government, and at 100,000 signatures it could trigger a debate about the issue in Parliament by the Petitions Committee.
Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE
The petition argues that keeping this group of people on the DWP unemployment register – when they are unlikely to find employment again – creates unnecessary work for the government and undue stress for the disabled person.
It also states: “We think that once someone is above 60 years old and unemployed their likelihood of being employable is extremely reduced.”
You can read the petition in full here.
State Pension age increase
The State Pension age in the UK is currently set to start rising from 66 to 67 from 2026, with the increase expected to be fully implemented for men and women by 2028.
Some people, born between certain dates, will see the change take effect next year.
The Pensions Act 2014 accelerated the increase in the State Pension age from 66 to 67 by eight years.
Under the changes, people born between March 6, 1961 and April 5, 1977 will be able to claim the State Pension once they reach 67.
A further increase from 67 to 68 is planned to take place between 2044 and 2046.
Anyone who is affected by the changes will receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) well ahead of time.
More information on the upcoming changes can be found here.
