The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) is urging the Government to create a fairer, simpler state pension system that ensures every pensioner can live with dignity and respect. The call comes as the Work and Pensions Committee’s Pensioner Poverty: challenges and mitigations report warns that too many older people are struggling to make ends meet.

A minimum level of retirement income and a Commissioner for Older People

The report calls for the Government to decide on and ensure a minimum level of retirement income, that provides the amount needed for a ‘minimum, dignified, socially acceptable standard of living, as well as a call for a Commissioner for Older People in England, a boost to benefits uptake and a taper to Pension Credit.

Jan Shortt, NPC General Secretary, said: “It is time to rethink how the state pension functions and to ask fundamental questions about fairness, adequacy, and sustainability. The NPC is actively exploring the concept of a Living State Pension —a secure, guaranteed income in later life that would end the need for cruel and complex means-tested top-up benefits. The NPC campaign for a decent state pension for all, set at 70% of the National Living Wage. For 2025/26, this would equate to £299.15 per week.”

The NPC also urged the government to stop focusing solely on the uplift to the new state pension. This skews public understanding of pensioner incomes and ignores the reality facing those still on the lower basic state pension.

Means-tested benefits also expose the fundamental flaws in the system. They create a harsh and divisive “cliff edge,” where a modest rise in income can result in a significant and unfair loss of support. This creates an arbitrary divide between those just above and just below eligibility thresholds, and often leaves people on the margins struggling without a safety net. The system is also bureaucratic and costly to administer, requiring intrusive assessments and complex monitoring. Instead of creating fairness, means-testing deepens inequality and public mistrust.

Raising the state pension age is not an economically sound solution. It forces older people into the harsh realities of the Universal Credit system, where ageism in the labour market remains widespread. Many are left juggling insecure work, poor health, and rising living costs. Working longer increases strain on physical and mental health and shifts the burden onto the NHS and other public services. This is not a sustainable or humane approach to later life.

The NPC welcomed the report’s recommendation for a Commissioner for Older People in England. A dedicated Commissioner would champion their rights, hold decision-makers accountable, and challenge the ageism and structural barriers that too often define policy on ageing and limit opportunities in later life. Without this role, there is a real risk that older people’s needs will remain fragmented across departments and de-prioritised, undermining both their well-being and the social and economic potential of an ageing population.

Women’s Budget Group: “pernicious and persistent inequality”

The Women’s Budget Group also responded to the parliamentary report. Dr Daniella Jenkins, policy advisor for the Group and expert witness to the Committee said, “MPs are right to sound a warning about the level of poverty among pensioners going up and the need for bold action from the Government. The latest figures from the DWP’s own analysis show that 98% of low earners stand to miss retiring at a ‘comfortable’ standard. This speaks to a pensions system that is failing too many people.

“The majority of pensioners are women and always have been. Pension reform should therefore put women’s experiences at the centre. Women make up the majority of low earners and so are more reliant on state pension and, as the Government’s figures show, there is a gender pensions gap for every age cohort. This is a pernicious and persistent inequality faced by women of every generation including those entering the labour market now. The current debates about increasing state pension age to save the Government money ignore this evidence at women’s peril. 

“Any strategy, commission or review of the pension systems must look to make it more progressive. That means looking at low paid workers’ employers contributing to private pensions before they do; it means staggering the thresholds for access to pension credits including for unpaid carers; and it means changing the pension tax reliefs that benefit high earners twice over and costs the Government £49 billion a year. That money could be used to support the lower paid and the predominantly female population doing the lion’s share of unpaid care and domestic work at the cost of their own incomes and savings.” 

Gender wealth gap

The response to the MPs’ report came on the same day that the Women’s Budget Group published new research on the gender wealth gap.

The gender wealth gap in Great Britain stands at21% compared to 13% for the gender pay gap, new analysis of the Wealth and Assets Survey by the Women’s Budget Group reveals. The WBG calls for reforms to tax relief on private pensions and a 2% tax on wealth as proposed by Tax Justice UK.

 Key points

• Wealth inequality is higher than income inequality. The highest 10% of earners receive 36% of total income compared to the 10% wealthiest who own 57% of total wealth.
• The gender wealth gap stands at 21%, compared to a gender pay gap of 13%.
• The gender pension gap is even higher at 43%, with men holding nearly £67,000 more than women. 
• The majority of men’s wealth comes from their pensions, whereas the majority of women’s wealth come from their share of jointly owned assets.
• Single mothers have the lowest average wealth of all, at £117,405, compared to £269,627 for working-age women in couples with children. 

Ignacia Pinto, report author said, “The Chancellor’s commitment to her fiscal rules and refusal to reverse the income tax cuts made by the previous government have left her little room for manoeuvre, putting wealth taxes firmly on the table ahead of the Autumn Budget. But wealth taxes aren’t just a last resort, they are also vital tools for tackling gender inequality and building the everyday economy the Chancellor envisioned at the beginning of her tenure. 

“Wealth inequality is soaring, with the wealthiest 10% in the UK now owning 57% of total wealth. Meanwhile income has stagnated and the quality and availability of our health services; schools; and social care have deteriorated with women paying the price.

“Women do nearly 50% more unpaid care and domestic work than men, leading to lower earnings and making it harder to build up personal wealth—especially in pensions, where there’s now a massive 43% gender gap. Most of the wealth women do have is tied up in shared assets like property, leaving them vulnerable to unequal sharing upon separation. Indeed, single mothers have the lowest levels of wealth of all household types and less than half of the wealth of working-age women in couples with children.

“We join the many voices calling for fairer taxation of wealth as a measure to tackle inequality, help close the gender wealth gap and fund the vital public services that make our economy stronger.” 

Image: https://www.rawpixel.com/image/5919287 Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal CC0 1.0 Deed