Sir Keir Starmer is going to means test pensions.
We can find no evidence for this, and the government has said it isn’t true. It may originate with comments from a former civil servant before the election, which Labour says are not party policy.
Posts on Facebook shared thousands of times suggest the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, is going to “means test” pensions.
The posts read, in part: “So starmer is going to means test pentions?? And the rich wont get a pention [sic].”
But we can find no evidence the government plans to means test the state pension, or that under its plans the “rich” won’t receive one.
It’s possible these claims are based on comments made by Sir Edward Troup, a former Treasury civil servant who was reportedly appointed as an advisor to now-Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves before the general election earlier this year.
In an interview with LBC in July, Sir Edward said of the state pension: “Should you means test it? I mean yes there is still a link that you pay your National Insurance and you do get more state pension if you contribute more. But the link is very light now, and by and large we have a universal benefit of state pension.”
He continued: “We can all think of the wealthy individuals in this country and say, well, do we think he or she should have a full state pension? Or if the public finances are in a bit of a state, perhaps he or she should be giving that up? So, there is a debate to be had.”
But in July the Labour party said of his comments: “These are not Labour party policies.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson told Full Fact: “There are no plans to change our policy on the state pension.
“We are committed to giving pensioners the dignity and security they deserve in retirement, which is why we are protecting the triple lock with the state pension set to increase by £1,700 over the course of [the] parliament.”
We wrote about this forecast increase to the new state pension last week.
It’s worth noting that for most pensioners the state pension only forms part of their income. The vast majority also receive additional income, for example through private or workplace pensions.
The government has made changes to the Winter Fuel Payment, which provides pensioners with either £200 or £300 towards paying heating bills over the winter. This payment was previously available to everyone receiving the state pension, but from this winter it will be effectively means tested, meaning only pensioners receiving Pension Credit or certain other qualifying benefits will be eligible to receive it. As a result, it it will no longer be paid to most pensioners.
We often see inaccurate or misleading claims about pensions and the support pensioners receive from the government on social media. Claims like these can affect how people choose to vote. Online claims can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because we can find no evidence the government plans to means test the state pension.
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