The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been urged to change a rule that impacts more than 70,000 state pensioners, potentially leaving them without vital financial support due to their partner's age.
Thirteen organisations and charities, including Independent Age, have sent a letter to the DWP and Labour minister Pat McFadden, calling for an end to the 'mixed-age couple' rule. This controversial policy prevents couples from claiming Pension Credit and other pension-age benefits until both partners have reached State Pension age.
Joanna Elson, chief executive of Independent Age, 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.'
Introduced in 2019, the rule can leave affected couples up to £7,000 a year worse off, according to the charity. A poll by Independent Age found that 62 per cent of the UK public supports scrapping the rule and allowing couples to claim support once either partner reaches State Pension age.
The charities warn that with the State Pension age set to rise, more couples will face longer waits and deeper hardship. Lynn, 62, from Eastbourne, shared her experience: 'For the first time ever, we had to turn to a food bank to get by. If it wasn't for our children, I don't know what we'd have done. They helped us get through this very stressful time in our lives.'
Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, commented: '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.'
