Pensioners with younger partners are losing nearly £10,000 a year in benefits due to a 2019 rule change by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), according to analysis by i. The change prevents mixed-age couples—where one person is of state pension age and the other is not—from claiming pension credit, forcing them onto less generous universal credit instead.
Age UK estimates that 60,000 mixed-age couples are affected, with many facing “real hardship” during the cost-of-living crisis. The charity has urged the government and Labour Party to reform the policy, arguing it is “clearly wrong” to penalise a pensioner in poverty simply for having a younger spouse.
Under current rules, pension credit can top up a couple’s weekly income to £332.95 if both are of state pension age. By contrast, universal credit offers a maximum of £617.60 per month—around £150 a week. This gap leaves mixed-age couples up to £9,902 worse off annually compared with the previous system.
Campaigners note that some younger partners cannot work due to health issues or caring responsibilities. Former Conservative pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann called for widening pension credit access, saying “restricting pension credit for older people… will disadvantage all those on lower incomes.” Liberal Democrat and SNP spokespeople also urged a review or reversal of the 2019 change.
Labour has previously criticised the rule but declined to comment on new calls. Mixed-age couples already receiving pension credit before 2019 can continue to do so only if their circumstances remain unchanged.
