Income dip for tens of thousands of York pensioners following crucial Commons vote

5.02.00pm GMT Wed 3rd Mar 2010

Tens of thousands of pensioners across York are facing an income dip next year following a crucial vote in the House of Commons. This decision affects 9 million people across the UK and will hit the tens of thousands of pensioners living in the City of York Council area.

The Government will now freeze part of the state pension from April, instead of applying pensions increases across the board. Whilst the basic state pension of £92.25 a week will go up by 2.5 per cent, the Labour Government is holding back the increase to other parts of pensioners' income such as the new state second pension.

In total the Government will withhold half a billion pounds from the nation's pensioners.

With inflation now at 3.5%, this Government plan means that pensions next year will see a real terms cut of £60.

Madeleine Kirk, Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson for York Outer, said "This is a really cruel trick to play on pensioners. The Government has been claiming they are going to give pensioners a better deal, but at the same time are refusing to increase major parts of the pension package. This means, with inflation at 3.5%, that pensioners will have LESS money to spend next year than this.

"In total the government has withheld half a billion pounds from our pensioners - yet they were only too happy to give billions to the bankers.

"Pensioners need a fair deal - pensions linked to the cost of living."

Local York Pensioner Elizabeth Clarkson (Woodthorpe) said "Time and again the Government says they are going to help us pensioners out, but our income never actually goes up. We urgently need our pensions linked to the cost of living - something the Government just refuses to do."