Charities including Independent Age have written to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden urging the UK Government to scrap the ‘mixed age couples’ rule for means-tested benefits delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The rule means couples can only claim benefits such as Pension Credit - worth on average £4,300 a year - when both partners have reached State Pension age. Campaigners said the current rules leave some low income households thousands of pounds worse off each year if one partner is younger than the other.
Impact on low-income households
According to the charities, affected couples can miss out on support worth up to £7,000 annually because they are forced to claim Universal Credit instead of Pension Credit. Universal Credit is paid at a lower rate and is designed mainly for working age households.
The organisations warn the issue could become even more serious as the State Pension age continues rising from 66 to 67 between now and 2028 - a phased rise to the official age of retirement started in April.
Public opinion and charity calls
New polling commissioned by Independent Age found 62 per cent of people believe couples should be able to access pension age entitlements once one partner reaches State Pension age.
Independent Age chief executive Joanna Elson said: “Every day we hear from older people struggling to make ends meet, and for thousands of mixed age couples the system is making that struggle even harder. This rule is unfairly locking around 70,000 older people out of vital pension age support simply because their partner is younger. The financial support they are missing out on could be the difference between heating and eating or paying the rent.”
The charities also warned the current system assumes younger partners are financially able to support the household, which they say does not reflect reality for many families where someone may be unable to work due to ill health or caring responsibilities.
Campaigner and personal stories
Jan Shortt, General Secretary, National Pensioners Convention said: “To treat people differently on the basis of who they fall in love with is nonsense. Mixed age couples are suffering financially because they cannot access the support they need. Decisions made by the government penalise mixed age couples and this must be addressed to enable them to be financially secure in the future.”
Lynn, 62, from Eastbourne, said she and her husband David struggled financially because of the rule. She explained that after initially being awarded Pension Credit, the couple later discovered they were not eligible because they were considered a mixed age couple. Lynn said: “We were told we could claim Pension Credit, but after seven months of receiving it we got a letter saying there had been a mistake and we weren’t entitled to it because we are a mixed age couple. For the first time ever, we had to turn to a food bank to get by.”
The charities are now calling on the UK Government to reverse the rule and allow couples to claim Pension Credit and other pension age benefits once the older partner reaches State Pension age.
