Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Pension credit only £3 less than State Pension

604 replies

SpanishBaguette · 16/09/2025 13:16

Maybe it's been obvious to others but I've only just found out that Pension Credit will top you up to no less than £227 per week which is only £3 less than the state pension.

AIBU to be hacked off that I need to pay 35 years of contributions to end up with a near identical pension to someone who gets it for free. WTF?

OP posts:
Bryonyberries · 16/09/2025 18:53

£227 isn’t really enough to live on though so people relying on it will still be struggling. At least if you work and build up a pension you might have a more comfortable retirement, plus you may also have invested money through your working years to help with old age.

Nowherefast4 · 16/09/2025 19:01

hagchic · 16/09/2025 18:34

@Nowherefast4

Well as the fastest growing group is those with mental health disorders - top of the list anxiety/depression there is quite a lot they can do to help them get better and back into work.

  1. Exercise - every day
  2. Eat well
  3. Manage their sleep
  4. Attend their appointments - always
  5. Take their medication as suggested
  6. Attend their therapy
  7. Attend their work placements suggested and engage as much as possible with the tasks given

Things that do not help

  1. Refusing to attend appointments
  2. Not forcing themselves out of bed and into a sleep routine
  3. Not exercising or doing physio exercises
  4. Utilising alcohol or illegal drugs that they know make them worse
  5. Not taking their medication
  6. Not working when working actually helps

But mental health IS health. It's not so easy to do all these things and then be motivated to get a job. And then you're looking at a litany of other issues: the comorbidity. between physical disability and mental illness, the fact mental illness might be quoted first but won't necessarily be the only issue, the chronic underfunding of mental health issues, related self esteem issues related to applying for and failing to get jobs, the seriousness of some of the illnesses you've described, the socio and economic links to them...

MyElatedUmberFinch · 16/09/2025 19:05

hagchic · 16/09/2025 18:34

@Nowherefast4

Well as the fastest growing group is those with mental health disorders - top of the list anxiety/depression there is quite a lot they can do to help them get better and back into work.

  1. Exercise - every day
  2. Eat well
  3. Manage their sleep
  4. Attend their appointments - always
  5. Take their medication as suggested
  6. Attend their therapy
  7. Attend their work placements suggested and engage as much as possible with the tasks given

Things that do not help

  1. Refusing to attend appointments
  2. Not forcing themselves out of bed and into a sleep routine
  3. Not exercising or doing physio exercises
  4. Utilising alcohol or illegal drugs that they know make them worse
  5. Not taking their medication
  6. Not working when working actually helps

I think this is the most ridiculous post I’ve ever read on mumsnet.

I don’t feel my life is worth living, I’m rubbish and a burden to everyone, I’m a waste of space, hey hang on I’ll eat some oily fish, knock the fags on the head and make myself a smoothie, just like that.

Hubblebubble · 16/09/2025 19:11

@MyElatedUmberFinch it's full of excellent advice. What has anyone with depression got to lose by getting into a sleep routine, taking their medication, attending therapy, eating well and moving their body? It's not going to make anyone feel worse is it? Whereas staying the same or actively engaging in harmful behaviours will.

MyElatedUmberFinch · 16/09/2025 19:14

Hubblebubble · 16/09/2025 19:11

@MyElatedUmberFinch it's full of excellent advice. What has anyone with depression got to lose by getting into a sleep routine, taking their medication, attending therapy, eating well and moving their body? It's not going to make anyone feel worse is it? Whereas staying the same or actively engaging in harmful behaviours will.

No words.

TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater · 16/09/2025 19:17

Hubblebubble · 16/09/2025 19:11

@MyElatedUmberFinch it's full of excellent advice. What has anyone with depression got to lose by getting into a sleep routine, taking their medication, attending therapy, eating well and moving their body? It's not going to make anyone feel worse is it? Whereas staying the same or actively engaging in harmful behaviours will.

It comes across as telling someone with asthma to just breath more so they can be cured.

Yes all the things listed can help but if the depression is severe then it will very hard to even try to do those things and even then it wont help.

I also hate that work is listed as a way to help. For some people work can make things worse.

Hubblebubble · 16/09/2025 19:24

@TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater how do you help people with severe depression?

TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater · 16/09/2025 19:25

Hubblebubble · 16/09/2025 19:24

@TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater how do you help people with severe depression?

I dont?

AnneElliott · 16/09/2025 19:37

AirborneElephant · 16/09/2025 14:13

That doesn’t make any sense. You’ve always been able to get credit as a SAHM for any children. So if she was a SAHM and then worked she should have a full state pension.

That only came in from 1978 I believe. Before that there wasn’t the NI credit.

Livingincanadaafter19yearsinlondon · 16/09/2025 20:10

NuovaPilbeam · 16/09/2025 18:42

No one is saying poorer pensioners should get nothing. But for lower earners, often the private pension is minimal, auto enrolment is a very recent thing - a few percent of minimum wage does not accumulate into much - it might only be worth a few pounds a week.

The issue is there's no incremental benefit to having worked and paid your NICs, when the state pension you get for that is just £3 more than the pension credit deemed to be the minimum needed to live on.

It should be that state pension from a full NIC contribution record gives you a materially better pension than pension credit.

By this logic, would you support high earners getting a significantly higher pension than low earners. You can make voluntary contribution for NI gaps (out of work, etc). The amount required is £923 a year. So £923 is all you need to contribute for a full years NI! I suspect if many of the people moaning on this thread actually looked at their own personal NI contributions and compared that number to the annual, triple locked, guaranteed pension they're getting they would realise they are also being subsidised by another tax payers contributions.

It's the whole point of wealth redistribution! You can't have it both ways - expect a top up yourself while moaning about others getting the same thing.

Plenty of countries where your pension is tied to your work and the poverty among the elderly is heartbreaking.

JenniferBooth · 16/09/2025 20:18

Hubblebubble · 16/09/2025 19:11

@MyElatedUmberFinch it's full of excellent advice. What has anyone with depression got to lose by getting into a sleep routine, taking their medication, attending therapy, eating well and moving their body? It's not going to make anyone feel worse is it? Whereas staying the same or actively engaging in harmful behaviours will.

The State.......................work full time, keep your weight down, have kids cos the birth rate is dropping dont overeat keep yourself available during non contracted hours but make sure you get plenty of excersise oh but remember to take your phone with you in case you get called into your zero hours job

Also The State....................run yourselves ragged while doing all this and making sure you care for your elderly relatives.

KhakiTiger · 16/09/2025 20:19

This is why all welfare is losing support among those who pay into the system.

It’s far too easy to never contribute an anything and get in return everything those who have contributed get. The ever dwindling number of contributors are sick and tired and the system will collapse eventually. Then let’s see how the takers will live for free.

TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater · 16/09/2025 20:23

KhakiTiger · 16/09/2025 20:19

This is why all welfare is losing support among those who pay into the system.

It’s far too easy to never contribute an anything and get in return everything those who have contributed get. The ever dwindling number of contributors are sick and tired and the system will collapse eventually. Then let’s see how the takers will live for free.

Contributors are people earning over £40k . Are you one?

montessorinanny · 16/09/2025 20:23

For some people pension credit is a lifeline. My mother is one of those. She has worked from age 15, only retiring at 78 when her body said no more. She worked full time both here in the UK and in Australia. Her basic state pension was £10 per week due to not paying while living in Australia. There is no reciprocal agreement with Australia any more so she cannot claim a part pension with them for all the time she worked there. Without pension credit she would not be able to live at all.

FixedOnTheFuture · 16/09/2025 20:58

Hubblebubble · 16/09/2025 19:11

@MyElatedUmberFinch it's full of excellent advice. What has anyone with depression got to lose by getting into a sleep routine, taking their medication, attending therapy, eating well and moving their body? It's not going to make anyone feel worse is it? Whereas staying the same or actively engaging in harmful behaviours will.

The depression stops them from even being able to start any of those things, is that hard for you to understand.
Also it can be secondary to other illnesses, but still listed as one of their conditions, so it comes up a lot in lists of reasons why people get benefits. It's not often the only thing they are claiming for.

TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater · 16/09/2025 21:02

FixedOnTheFuture · 16/09/2025 20:58

The depression stops them from even being able to start any of those things, is that hard for you to understand.
Also it can be secondary to other illnesses, but still listed as one of their conditions, so it comes up a lot in lists of reasons why people get benefits. It's not often the only thing they are claiming for.

Show quote history

Yes I am on PIP and depression is one of my conditions but it is not what I actually claim for.

Enigma54 · 16/09/2025 21:14

montessorinanny · 16/09/2025 20:23

For some people pension credit is a lifeline. My mother is one of those. She has worked from age 15, only retiring at 78 when her body said no more. She worked full time both here in the UK and in Australia. Her basic state pension was £10 per week due to not paying while living in Australia. There is no reciprocal agreement with Australia any more so she cannot claim a part pension with them for all the time she worked there. Without pension credit she would not be able to live at all.

Gosh that’s quite sad. All those years worked and for very little actual
state UK pension.

Enigma54 · 16/09/2025 21:19

KhakiTiger · 16/09/2025 20:19

This is why all welfare is losing support among those who pay into the system.

It’s far too easy to never contribute an anything and get in return everything those who have contributed get. The ever dwindling number of contributors are sick and tired and the system will collapse eventually. Then let’s see how the takers will live for free.

The “ takers” ?

NoisyLittleOtter · 16/09/2025 21:22

KhakiTiger · 16/09/2025 20:19

This is why all welfare is losing support among those who pay into the system.

It’s far too easy to never contribute an anything and get in return everything those who have contributed get. The ever dwindling number of contributors are sick and tired and the system will collapse eventually. Then let’s see how the takers will live for free.

Unless you earn over approx £41k per year, you are a ‘taker’. Anyone earning less than that takes out more than they put in.

montessorinanny · 16/09/2025 21:22

Enigma54 · 16/09/2025 21:14

Gosh that’s quite sad. All those years worked and for very little actual
state UK pension.

Show quote history

Yes it is. It was also made worse by someone in the pension office who did not know what they were talking about who told her that she was not entitled to anything else and had to live on what she had. There was no mention of pension credit at all. She thought she would have to keep working in order to survive. Not that we would have let that happen. My brothers and I have supported her if needed but she didn't want that.

Enigma54 · 16/09/2025 21:26

hagchic · 16/09/2025 18:34

@Nowherefast4

Well as the fastest growing group is those with mental health disorders - top of the list anxiety/depression there is quite a lot they can do to help them get better and back into work.

  1. Exercise - every day
  2. Eat well
  3. Manage their sleep
  4. Attend their appointments - always
  5. Take their medication as suggested
  6. Attend their therapy
  7. Attend their work placements suggested and engage as much as possible with the tasks given

Things that do not help

  1. Refusing to attend appointments
  2. Not forcing themselves out of bed and into a sleep routine
  3. Not exercising or doing physio exercises
  4. Utilising alcohol or illegal drugs that they know make them worse
  5. Not taking their medication
  6. Not working when working actually helps

Does all this include cancer induced depression? Because I can tell you, being diagnosed with 2 incurable cancers, is an absolute depressing headfuck!

Justchilling07 · 16/09/2025 21:35

Coffeeishot · 16/09/2025 14:21

You are in such a privileged position with your view point do you think all poorer people are lazy and feckless ?

Show quote history

Oh my goodness, agree, many of these comments, are horrible, the resentment, towards poorer people
I mean really, if it’s such a good life on benefits, apparently, it’s an easy way to live! Then the people getting so angry claim benefits then… no because it means you can’t have any assets, property etc and the person has to prove why they’re unable to work.
Personally, l own my own home and l’m paying into a private pension, l just don’t get why there’s so much bitterness, one poster saying, basically if you’re not bitter, then it means you haven’t got any fire in your belly!!
The sad thing is these posters are tarring everyone with the same brush, classing, disabled people as “lazy and feckless”!! Disgusting attitude.

Enigma54 · 16/09/2025 21:36

montessorinanny · 16/09/2025 21:22

Yes it is. It was also made worse by someone in the pension office who did not know what they were talking about who told her that she was not entitled to anything else and had to live on what she had. There was no mention of pension credit at all. She thought she would have to keep working in order to survive. Not that we would have let that happen. My brothers and I have supported her if needed but she didn't want that.

Show quote history

Well that’s terrible of the pension office. I’m so glad your mum was awarded her PC.

Enigma54 · 16/09/2025 21:40

Hubblebubble · 16/09/2025 19:11

@MyElatedUmberFinch it's full of excellent advice. What has anyone with depression got to lose by getting into a sleep routine, taking their medication, attending therapy, eating well and moving their body? It's not going to make anyone feel worse is it? Whereas staying the same or actively engaging in harmful behaviours will.

Bloody hell.

NuovaPilbeam · 16/09/2025 22:47

Unless you earn over approx £41k per year, you are a ‘taker’. Anyone earning less than that takes out more than they put in.

There's a big difference between between people who give value to the economy by labouring productively for as many hours as a lawyer or accountant, but simply aren't financially rewarded by capitalism, vs people who opt not work at all. The latter are "takers".