I’m a pensioner working 40 hours a week – we will be no better off | Personal Finance | Finance
Pensioners will be “no better off” again next year, says Melanie Roberts, 72, from West Yorkshire.
She told Express.co.uk: “When the state pension rises, it will put a lot more of us into a bracket to pay tax. They give with one hand and take it back in taxes with the other.”
Ms Roberts owns her own home and has paid off the mortgage; however, she is forced to continue working as she says the state pension alone does not cover her basic outgoings. She now spends more than 40 hours a week selling books and organising postage for her eBay business. “A lot of us have worked all our lives, paid our taxes to help the country, and we’re just left on the scrap heap,” she said.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the state pension will rise by 4.8% next April in line with the triple lock. The uplift will see the full new state pension rise to £241.30 a week, or £12,547.60 a year, representing an increase of almost £575 a year.
The full basic rate will rise to £184.90 per week, or £9,614.80 per year, providing an extra £439.40 per year.
With the income tax thresholds now frozen until the 2030/31 tax year, the increase will leave those receiving the full new state pension just £20 away from crossing the annual personal allowance threshold of £12,570.
Based on current forecasts, the full new state pension is set to exceed the threshold in 2027.
For Ms Roberts, Government support is patchy at best. She is unable to claim Pension Credit because she’s still working, but if she stopped working to claim the benefit, she said she’d be nearly £100 a month worse off.
Ms Roberts said: “I cut back on anything I can. I keep my lights off to save on electricity. I don’t have electric heating in the house, and the cooker is gas-powered. I have no heating in my bedroom.”
Ms Roberts, who lives in a detached property she describes as “off-grid”, said it’s falling apart. She said: “The roof needs redoing… the walls need redoing, but there’s no money available to do it.”
She added: “There are a lot of pensioners in a similar position, especially those living in rural communities.”
