Pensions increase by 5%
Date published: 06 April 2009
Pensioners in Rochdale will benefit from a 5% rise in their state pension from today.
The change, from £90.70 to £95.25, is the biggest percentage increase since 2001, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Minister for Pensions and the Ageing Society, Rosie Winterton, said: “Poorer pensioners will get real help through the biggest ever rise in pension credit which will ensure no pensioner needs to live on less than £130 a week, or £198 for couples.
“I know at the moment, people are feeling the pinch and have concerns about finances. But it’s worth looking at how far we have come in helping vulnerable pensioners in the last 10 years. In that time we’ve lifted nearly a million pensioners out of poverty.
“In 1997, our pensioners’ income was well below the European average. Today their income is nearly 10 per cent higher than the EU average.
“Even the poorest pensioners in the UK are better off than the poorest pensioners in France or Germany.”
Do you have a story for us?
Let us know by emailing news@rochdaleonline.co.uk
All contact will be treated in confidence.
Most Viewed News Stories
- 1Rochdale Online Ltd has ceased trading
- 2Man killed in M62 crash after car hits bridge at junction 19
- 3The land has laid dormant for years, now £15m could help see it transformed
- 4Abandoned shopping centre to be brought back to life as a banqueting hall
- 5GMP detain carjacker minutes after committing burglary in Rochdale
To contact the Rochdale Online news desk, email news@rochdaleonline.co.uk or visit our news submission page.
To get the latest news on your desktop or mobile, follow Rochdale Online on Twitter and Facebook.