Westminster Hall
15 June 2026
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Chamber House of Commons
00:11 - 00:14
Speaker 1
To move the motion.
00:14 - 02:16
Speaker 2
Thank you, Dr. Huq. It's a pleasure to serve with you in the chair. I beg to move that this House has considered e-petition 740671 relating to the personal allowance for state pensioners. I want to start by paying tribute to the petitioner, Tim Mason, and the 120,000 people who have signed this petition, including hundreds in my own constituency in the Scottish Borders. I come to this debate with a simple starting principle: those who have worked hard throughout their lives should have dignity and security in retirement.
Now, prior to this debate, the petition creator, Tim, got in touch with me to explain why he started this petition. I thought it was worth sharing his story, Dr. Huq. He told me that he receives a pension from the Royal Mail of around £400 per month, but once he receives his state pension, that Royal Mail pension is reduced to around £290 per month. His motivation for starting this petition was that many other pensioners will undoubtedly find themselves in the same position, paying tax on relatively small pensions that they have worked hard and saved for throughout their lives. We have seen a growing concern that an increasing number of pensioners are finding themselves liable to pay tax on their pensions.
This is because the triple lock has increased the state pension year on year whilst personal tax allowances have remained frozen. As a result, some pensioners are required to complete a self-assessment tax return, whilst others receive unexpected tax bills from HMRC. We know that many pensioners do not have substantial incomes and have limited savings. It can therefore be both distressing and deeply worrying for these hard-pressed pensioners to deal with tax demands. As the organisation Silver Voices has highlighted, taxing the state pension risks undermining the very principle of a retirement safety net designed to ensure that people can afford life's basic necessities in retirement.
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