UK MPs demand urgent universal credit boost for over-60s
- By Maria Lopez -
- Jul 11, 2026
The Government has been urged by an all-party group of MPs to implement an immediate “short-term payment increase” to Universal Credit for 66-year-olds. A group of 25 lawmakers warn that tens of thousands of the country’s older citizens are at risk of falling into deep poverty. This alert comes as the UK State Pension age rises again from 66 to 67.
The Committee suspects that hundreds of thousands of elderly people in the interim period are being compelled to use all of their savings or to depend on inadequate working age benefits.
It states: “For a 66 year old not in work due to illness, job limitations or due to care responsibilities, a Universal Credit payment of £425 per month (in) a stark contrast to over £1,000 in State Pension payments, where one may also be entitled to Pension Credit.”
They added: “More than half of people are not in paid work in their mid-60s. An extra social security payment for those unable to work is therefore essential to avoid unnecessary hardship. Otherwise, many people approaching retirement are forced into working despite chronic health conditions, thus compounding their difficulties.”
When the pension age rose to 66 several years ago, 600,000 individuals had pensions deferred for 12 months resulting in an 82% increase in child and older poverty rates.
When the State Pension was first put in to 66, poverty levels among over-60s soared from 10 per cent to 24 per cent, leaving nearly 100,000 older citizens unable to afford adequate food and heat. The new report says the “current policy, which raises the State Pension age by a year … to 67 by 2028 will put over half a million people into poverty.”
“It is vital that more information about the transition to State Pension age of 67 is provided by the Government,” the Work and Pensions Committee’s chair, Deborah Abrahams, said in a letter to ministers.