Marie Collins, 84, from Narborough has received no state pension payments since November after health issues left her unable to fly home from Cyprus

An 84-year-old woman says she has been left “abandoned” and driven to depression after her state pension payments stopped without warning whilst she was recovering from surgery abroad. Marie Collins, who lives in Narborough, Leicestershire, has not received any pension payments since the beginning of November.

She is currently stranded in Cyprus after a fortnight’s holiday back in September turned into months overseas as health complications meant she was issued with a no-fly order by doctors. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been repeatedly contacted by Marie, her niece, and even the British Consulate in Cyprus, yet her payments remain suspended.

“I have not had a penny for nearly four and a half months,” she said. “I’ve got no savings. What am I supposed to live on?” Marie was admitted to hospital with a severe chest infection.

Subsequently, she had a fall and has since undergone physiotherapy, but still has limited use of her hand and “no pressure” in her fingers, leaving her unable to write properly.

Doctors provided letters confirming she was not fit to fly, and both local and specialist medical evidence was sent to the DWP, she said. Despite this, her pension payments stopped at the start of November, reports Leicestershire Live.

Marie says she spent “weeks and weeks” trying to contact its offices by phone, often waiting on hold for hours before being cut off. “Every time I got through to someone different, it felt like they hadn’t read any of the notes,” she said.

“They just kept sending me round in circles.”

With her health deteriorating, Marie asked her niece in Yorkshire to intervene on her behalf. She was told the department could not speak to her niece without power of attorney.

Marie arranged the paperwork for this to be done and sent it by recorded delivery in early January. Tracking confirmed it had arrived, but her niece was later told the department had no record of it and still could not discuss the case.

At one point, Marie said she was unable to make international calls after running out of mobile credit, leaving WhatsApp as her only means of communication. “I could not make calls, I could not receive calls, I could not send texts. I was completely stuck,” she said.

In mid-January, following intervention from the British Consulate in Cyprus, Marie was told she needed to complete a new 12-page state pension form. She was informed that once received, her payments would be reinstated.

Due to her hand injury, Marie struggled to fill in the paperwork and sign it. “I could not write. I had to get help to fill it in. I tried to hold the pen with two hands just to do a signature,” she said.

The completed form was sent on January 23 and tracked as delivered six days later. However, as of early March, no payments have resumed.

Marie says her financial worries have had an effect on her health. When she arrived in Cyprus in September, she weighed nine and a half stone.

She now weighs seven stone. “I am hardly eating. I am in a deep depression,” she said.

Friends in Cyprus have helped her with food and accommodation. Before travelling, Marie had put her home on the market following the death of her long-term companion, who was also elderly and “severely disabled”.

She explained the house was too large for her to manage on her own and she had planned to downsize. On the advice of her estate agent, the property was emptied to facilitate viewings, but it has not sold.

Marie now says she has nowhere permanent to return to in the UK.

Still under medical care and awaiting clearance to fly, Marie fears further delays could leave her stranded if travel becomes disrupted.

“I am not worried about Cyprus,” she said. “I am worried about when they (DWP) are going to start paying me. I am a UK national. I feel totally abandoned.”

The DWP has been asked for comment.

The WASPI campaign has provided an update on next steps after the DWP rejected compensation for the second time, with legal teams reviewing whether to launch another judicial review challenge

The WASPI campaign (Women Against State Pension Inequality) has provided a fresh update on their fight for DWP compensation. The group suffered a significant blow recently when the DWP confirmed it would not be offering compensation.

This marked the second time the Labour Government has issued a statement on the matter. Ministers initially announced in December 2024 that no compensation would be forthcoming, but the WASPI campaign successfully secured a judicial review of that decision.

The campaigners were due to appear in court in December 2025, but ministers withdrew the decision at the last minute, stating they would reconsider it based on new evidence. Legal representatives for the DWP then agreed to an out-of-court settlement, paying out £120,000 to cover WASPI’s legal costs.

This raises questions about whether WASPI will mount another judicial review challenge against the latest decision. In an update, WASPI said: “Since our last update, WASPI’s legal team have undertaken a careful line by line scrutiny of the Government’s new decision and the barrister team has been fully briefed; we will meet with them in the coming days. We will update you on our next steps once we have received their advice.”

The WASPI campaign is amongst several organisations representing women born in the 1950s who were affected when the state pension age for women increased from 60 to 65 and later to 66, reports the Mirror.

Campaigners maintain the women weren’t properly informed about the changes, and the DWP should have communicated the alterations sooner.

An earlier investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found there was ‘maladministration’ by the DWP, as they ought to have sent letters to the affected women far earlier. The watchdog recommended compensation payments to the women ranging between £1,000 and £2,950.

Labour has accepted this finding of maladministration, but opted against providing financial compensation. In delivering the second decision, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told MPs: “The evidence shows that the vast majority of 1950s-born women already knew the state pension age was increasing thanks to a wide range of public information, including through leaflets, education campaigns, information in GP surgeries, on TV, radio, cinema and online.

“To specifically compensate only those women who suffered injustice would require a scheme that could reliably verify the individual circumstances of millions of women.”

Grace Hardy, tax accountant at Hardy Accounting, highlighted several crucial takeaways from the WASPI situation. She said: “The overarching lesson is that the UK tax and benefits system is genuinely complex, changes frequently, and does not reliably notify those affected by changes.

“Treating your own financial position as something to actively and periodically review rather than something that will look after itself is probably the most valuable single habit anyone can develop.”

She urged individuals not to assume that current regulations will stay the same going forward. She said: “Pension ages, tax thresholds, allowances and benefit rules are all subject to change. Any plan that depends entirely on current rules holding indefinitely is fragile.”

This advice is particularly timely, as the state pension age will soon be rising again. The qualifying age currently sits at 66 for both men and women and will rise progressively from April 2026, reaching 67 by April 2028.

Ms Hardy pointed out some other financial matters worth keeping an eye on. She said: “Know what applies to you specifically. General media coverage tells you the average or headline rules.

“But your state pension age, your National Insurance record, your specific tax position, your pension entitlements these are individual. Use the Government Gateway to check your state pension forecast and National Insurance record.”

She also advised seeking independent financial guidance on significant decisions, including consolidating pensions, drawing down from defined benefit schemes, and inheritance planning. Ms Hardy stated: “These are areas where mistakes are costly and often irreversible.”

Some older people on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) could be entitled to backdated payments for enhanced mobility rate following a tribunal ruling and regulatory changes affecting claims between 2013 and 2020

Some older people claiming a DWP benefit could get more money. Some groups of pensioners on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) with an award for the lower rate of mobility element may be able to ask the DWP to reassess their claim.

It follows a recent change in legislation. Those over State Pension age may also be eligible for an increased award for the mobility part of PIP even if they no longer receive the benefit.

However, the change in law only relates to claimants over State Pension age and their entitlement to the enhanced mobility award. Department for Work and Pensions guidance clarifies it only applies to PIP claims that were reviewed between April 8, 2013, and November 20, 2020.

This legal amendment follows a tribunal ruling on May 22, 2020 which highlighted an unintentional gap in regulation 27 of the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013, reports the Mirror.

The guidance states: “DWP did not have the legal powers to restrict the mobility award for claimants who were in receipt of the standard rate of the mobility award and over State Pension age, on the grounds of new medical evidence. New medical evidence is a report from a health professional requested by DWP which recommended the enhanced rate of the mobility award.

“DWP were only able to restrict the mobility award for claimants if a relevant change in circumstances was identified after they reached State Pension age.”

Amendments to PIP regulations came into effect from November 30, 2020, to rectify this unintentional gap. The DWP is urging anyone who believes they may have been affected to request a review of their claim.

Who might qualify for the PIP enhanced mobility rate?

The DWP previously relied on a health professional report when assessing your claim, and if you hadn’t reported a change in your mobility requirements, you may be entitled to an uplift in your mobility award.

This is because the DWP should not have informed you it couldn’t be increased due to reaching State Pension age – meaning you could have received additional money.

The enhanced mobility rate is currently valued at £77.05 per week during this financial year, totalling £308.20 every four-week payment period. An enhanced mobility rate award could also allow someone to access the Motability Scheme, assisting them with transportation.

A petition is calling for the UK Government to stop the State Pension age rising from 66 to 67 starting in April

The State Pension age is set to begin increasing from 66 to 67 in April, with the change due to be implemented for all men and women across the UK by 2028. The scheduled adjustment to the official retirement age has been enshrined in law since 2014, with a subsequent rise from 67 to 68 planned for the mid-2040s.

The Pensions Act 2014 brought forward the increase in the State Pension age from 66 to 67 by eight years. The UK Government also altered the manner in which the increase in State Pension age is phased.

This means that rather than reaching State Pension age on a particular date, individuals born between March 6, 1961 and April 5, 1977 will be eligible to claim the State Pension upon turning 67.

Nevertheless, a new online petition is urging the UK Government to “stop the State Pension age rising to 67”. It goes further by suggesting it should be reduced to 65.

Petition creator Lynne Calder says: “Let people have the choice whether to retire or keep working. Many people have been working since they were 16. We think a state pension retirement age of 65 for all is ample enough.”

At 10,000 signatures of support the petition would be entitled to a written response from the UK Government. At 100,000, the Petitions Committee would consider it for debate in Parliament, reports the Daily Record.

Under the Pensions Act 2007 the State Pension age for men and women will increase from 67 to 68 between 2044 and 2046. The Pensions Act 2014 mandates a regular review of the State Pension age, at least once every five years.

The review is centred on the principle that individuals should be able to spend a certain proportion of their adult life drawing a State Pension.

The UK Government recently launched a new Pension Commission to investigate how to boost pension saving with its findings due to be published in 2027. Areas for consideration will include auto-enrolment saving rates, boosting saving among groups such as the self-employed and a review of the State Pension age.

Dr Suzy Morrissey will report on factors the UK Government should consider relating to State Pension age and the Government Actuary’s Department will prepare a report on the proportion of adult life in retirement.

The review of the State Pension age will take into account life expectancy along with a range of other factors relevant to setting the State Pension age. Following the review’s completion, the UK Government may then choose to bring forward changes to the State Pension age.

However, any proposals would have to go through Parliament before becoming law.

You may qualify for PIP if you need extra help with everyday tasks due to an illness, disability or mental health condition

The duration of awards for individuals making a new claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be extended from April to help reduce the backlog. PIP is the main disability benefit for people of working age in the UK.

You may qualify for PIP if you need extra help with everyday tasks due to an illness, disability or mental health condition. However, your eligibility to PIP isn’t based on your condition – it is based on how it affects your life. PIP is normally awarded for a set period of time and currently, this can be as short as nine months.

But under changes due to come into effect from April 2026, this is to be extended to a minimum of three years for the majority of new PIP claimants aged 25 and over, rising to five years at their next review if they remain entitled.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the measure aims to free up health professionals to carry out more face-to-face assessments and deliver more reassessments, reports the Mirror.

These operational changes are separate to the Timms Review, which will examine the role of PIP, eligibility for the daily living and mobility components and assessment process.

PIP comprises two elements – the daily living component, and the mobility component. The daily living rate is £73.90 a week if you’re awarded the standard rate, whilst the higher rate is £110.40 a week.

The mobility component is £29.20 per week for the standard rate, and £77.05 per week for the enhanced rate. You must inform the DWP if your health or condition has changed.

If you’re terminally ill, you typically receive PIP automatically without undergoing an assessment. If you are granted PIP under the special rules for terminal illness, your award will last for three years before being reviewed.

PIP is accessible if you are aged over 16 but below state pension age. If you claim PIP and reach state pension age, your claim will usually continue.

You may be able to submit a new claim at state pension age if you were eligible for PIP in the previous 12 months.

The DWP has confirmed it will review eligibility for the mobility part of PIP alongside the daily living element, with the review to conclude by autumn 2026

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently confirmed that the mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be reviewed alongside the daily living element, as part of the UK Government’s welfare reforms. The review will be co-produced by Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms, along with disabled groups and charities, and is set to be completed this autumn.

During the recent State Pension and benefits uprating debate in Parliament, Sir Stephen confirmed that the review will be published before 2027, following a suggestion from Conservative MP Rebecca Smith that it would not be available until next year.

Sir Stephen stated: “I am co-chairing a review of PIP that will conclude by the Autumn of this year; she (Rebecca Smith) said that she did not think that the review would happen until 2027, but it will conclude by the Autumn of this year.”

Those PIP claimants who are awarded the higher rate of the PIP mobility component can transfer some or all of the payment to lease a new car, wheelchair-accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair through the Motability Scheme.

Recent figures from Motability Operations – the company behind the life-changing Motability Scheme – reveal that there are now 815,000 customers across the UK, including approximately 80,000 residing in Scotland, reports the Daily Record.

Currently, there are over 3.2 million Blue Badge permit holders across the UK, including more than 235,700 in Scotland. DWP figures also reveal that just over 3m PIP claimants receive either the standard or higher rate of the mobility component.

This comprises 1,961,029 claimants receiving the higher payment award, worth £77.05 per week and 1,111,219 on the standard award rate of £29.20 per week. There are currently nearly 3.9 million people claiming PIP across England and Wales – all Scots have now been transferred to Adult Disability Payment.

In a written question to the DWP, former Labour and now an Independent MP, Rachel Maskell recently asked what steps it is taking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to co-produce policy changes to mobility allowances’ of PIP.

In a written response, Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms, said: “The PIP mobility element is in scope of the Timms Review, which aims to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future.

“We will co-produce the Review with disabled people, and their organisations to ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work. We will provide an update shortly. We will not make changes to PIP eligibility, including for the mobility element, until the Review has concluded.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to reform the Motability Scheme during the Autumn Budget. These reforms include ending the VAT relief on top-up payments, a one-off voluntary payment required to lease more expensive vehicles on the Scheme, and the application of Insurance Premium Tax on leases.

Tax changes will not significantly affect vehicles that have been extensively modified for wheelchair users, or existing leases, and Motability will continue to supply vehicles at no extra cost to the value of eligible disability benefits.

Mixed age couples must claim Universal Credit instead of more generous Pension Credit when one partner is over state pension age but the other is yet to reach 66

Reaching state pension age unlocks a range of benefits and DWP support, including Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and Pension Age Disability Payment. However, having a younger partner could render you ineligible, potentially requiring you to claim working-age benefits such as Universal Credit instead.

Mixed-age couples encounter this predicament when one partner has surpassed state pension age whilst the other has yet to reach 66. This creates complications for benefits such as Pension Credit and Universal Credit, where a partner’s circumstances are factored into calculations.

For those who have reached state pension age, this typically means they are unable to claim pension-age benefits and must instead rely on working-age benefits like Universal Credit. However, according to Age UK, they will be regarded as having ‘no-work related requirements’.

Green Party MP Siân Berry challenged the DWP over whether it had estimated the number of people living in poverty as a direct result of the mixed-age couple rules, whilst the youngest partner awaits state pension age.

Although no such estimate was forthcoming, the DWP’s Sir Stephen Timms did provide a parliamentary response to the query, clarifying that the regulation is intended to benefit the younger partner, reports the Mirror.

He said: “Ensuring that individuals can get into, progress and stay in work is important in helping them to continue saving for their own retirement and contribute to the wider economy.

“The requirement for mixed age couples to seek financial support from the working-age social security system until both members of the couple reach State Pension Age ensures that, once in receipt of Universal Credit, the younger partner can access the same employment support that is available for customers below State Pension Age including dedicated employment support for customers over the age of 50. The pension-age partner is placed in the no-work related requirements group.”

The regulations governing these couples were revised in May 2019. From that point onwards, mixed-age couples are no longer permitted to choose between claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit or pension-age Housing Benefit.

Both partners are only able to claim Universal Credit until they have both reached state pension age. EntitledTo notes: “Before this change, a mixed age couple could be eligible to claim the more generous pension age benefits when just one of them reached pension age.”

Other benefits and DWP payments may not be impacted by having a partner who is younger than yourself. State pension payments, for instance, do not take your partner’s age into consideration.

At present, the qualifying age for the state pension stands at 66, however over the next two years this will rise to 67. Those born between April 6, 1960 and March 5, 1961 will be directly affected by the gradual phasing in of this change.

Everyone born after these dates will have a state pension age of 67. The state pension age is also anticipated to rise further to 68 around 2044.

The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed pensioners whose sole income is the Basic or New State Pension will not pay income tax over this Parliament

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that pensioners whose sole income is the Basic and full New State Pension, “without any increments, will not pay any income tax this tax year or next”. Pensions Minister Torsten Bell also said the UK Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the “dignity and respect they deserve in retirement”.

His remarks came in a written response to Labour MP Euan Stainbank who asked whether Chancellor Rachel Reeves plans to extend the income tax exemption to older people with private pensions “who receive the same income as those who solely receive the maximum State Pension”.

The Chancellor announced in November that the Personal Allowance will remain frozen at £12,570 until April 2031. Mr Bell said the State Pension is the “foundation” of the support available to people in retirement adding that over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full New State Pension is on track to go up by around £2,100.

He continued: “When it comes to taxes, social security benefits are treated differently depending on why they are paid. Generally, benefits that replace income, like the State Pension, are taxable.

“However, I can confirm that those whose sole income is the basic and full new State Pension, without any increments, will not pay any income tax this tax year or next. Furthermore, the Chancellor has said that those whose only income is the Basic or New State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament.”

The DWP explained the UK Government will achieve this by “easing the administrative burden” for pensioners so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. More details on this will be announced “in due course”, reports the Daily Record.

Millions of older people are set for a significant State Pension increase next month when the New and Basic State Pension rises by 4.8 per cent for the 2026/27 financial year. The new payment rates will take effect from 6 April.

The increase will mean those on the full New State Pension will receive £241.30 per week, whilst those on the maximum Basic State Pension will get £184.90 per week.

It’s crucial to note that the amount of State Pension someone receives depends on their National Insurance contributions. To receive the full New State Pension you need around 35 years’ worth, but this may differ if you were ‘contracted out’.

The full New State Pension will rise by approximately £574 to £12,547 over the new financial year.

The Department for Work and Pensions has clarified the reason behind the massive increase in Universal Credit claims

The Department for Work and Pensions has responded to the sharp surge in Universal Credit claimants over recent years, clarifying that the figures are not what they might appear. Nearly 80% of these new recipients did not submit fresh claims for the benefit.

Since 2022, six legacy benefits have been progressively consolidated into Universal Credit, and the DWP confirmed this accounts for the overwhelming majority of the striking rise in claims. The department posted on X: “Nearly 80% of the increase is people being moved from old benefits onto Universal Credit. Not new claims. A transition we inherited.

“And it’s the same story for those with no work requirements – at least 72% of that increase is legacy benefit claimants moving across.”

In December 2025, the total number of Universal Credit claimants across Britain reached 8.34 million, an increase of almost one million since December 2024. Figures released on Tuesday revealed that more than 775,000 of these individuals had been transferred from legacy benefits.

In short, the considerable rise in Universal Credit recipients since 2022 is largely the result of a managed administrative transfer rather than an emerging pattern suggesting significantly more people are likely to lodge new claims for the benefit going forward. The transition from legacy benefits to Universal Credit has been progressing through a managed migration process, reports the Express.

Those affected were issued migration notices and given the opportunity to transfer their claim to Universal Credit with Transitional Protection before their existing benefits ceased.

Legacy benefits being moved to Universal Credit:

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

Certain benefits, such as Working Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits, have already officially come to an end. The Government expects the final stages of the migration to be concluded by the end of March.

The managed migration process commences when an individual receives their migration notice. This will include their own personal deadline by which they must apply for Universal Credit in order to receive Transitional Protection, which guarantees they will not be left financially worse off under the new system.

For instance, if someone was receiving £600 a month from Tax Credits but only qualifies for £400 from Universal Credit under standard eligibility rules, the Transitional Protection will supplement this with an additional £200. However, should you miss the deadline stated in your migration notice, you will forfeit any entitlement to Transitional Protection.

Those unable to meet the deadline outlined in their migration notice may also be eligible for reasonable adjustments from the DWP. These could include extended deadlines or the appointment of representatives for individuals who are unable to manage their own affairs.

Earlier this month, Sir Stephen Timms disclosed that more than 150 Complex Case Coaches have been mobilised to offer tailored support, collaborating with local safeguarding teams for especially vulnerable individuals.

Around 24 million people claiming DWP benefits will receive their payments as normal in March 2026, with no bank holidays affecting the schedule

Benefit payments will arrive as scheduled in March for millions of recipients, as no bank holidays are planned during the month. Should your payment date fall on a weekend or bank holiday, you’ll typically receive the money on the preceding working day.

Those receiving Universal Credit, State Pension, Child Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and other benefits should anticipate funds arriving in their accounts on the usual date. Should any problems arise with your payment, get in touch with the relevant office managing your benefit.

Currently, approximately 24 million people across the nation are claiming some form of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administered benefits, including State Pension recipients, accounting for roughly one in three individuals. Analysis by Policy in Practice reveals that £24bn in benefits remains unclaimed annually.

Should you believe you’re eligible for benefit payments, you’ll need to provide bank, building society or credit union account information when applying. Alternative payment methods are only available if you encounter difficulties opening or managing an account.

The basic State Pension is paid directly into bank accounts. Payment typically occurs every four weeks, with the precise day determined by the final two digits of your national insurance (NI) number, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Much like other benefits, payment dates are expected to remain consistent throughout March. Significant changes are set to affect household bills come April.

Energy regulator Ofgem has confirmed that the energy price cap will fall by 7% in April. This reduction will apply to all households, including those on fixed tariffs, and requires no claim or application. The exact savings for each household will vary depending on individual circumstances and energy usage, but average savings from this cut are expected to be approximately £150.

From April, both the new and old State Pension will rise in accordance with the triple lock. The DWP states this will benefit millions of pensioners with above-inflation payments.

Nevertheless, it will bring state pension payments within touching distance of the personal allowance threshold. After the increase, the full new state pension will amount to roughly £12,547.60 per year, whilst the frozen personal allowance remains at £12,570.

The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that Universal Credit claimants will see their payments rise this year. Benefits linked to inflation are set to increase by 3.8% from April, whilst others will receive a 2.3% uplift.