Double personal allowance for state pensioners update to correct 'unfair' system

Demands are being made that the personal allowance should be doubled for those on the state pension. You can earn up to £12,570 without paying income tax in line with the personal allowance. If this was doubled, state pensioners would be able to earn £25,140 a year without paying the tax.

A new petition to Parliament reads: "We want the Government to introduce a new tax code for state pensioners, set at double the basic threshold. If this was implemented, pensioners would receive a higher tax-exempt limit, but wealthier pensioners would still pay tax."

The message criticises the current tax system, stating: "We think that people with small private or workplace pensions are currently being taxed unfairly."

At the time of writing, the petition has reached just over 1,000 signatures. If it gets the support of 10,000 people, the Government will have to issue a response. You can add your signature to the petition on the website.

If it reaches 100,000 signatures, the matter will be considered for debate in Parliament. The full new state pension is currently £230.25 a week, or £11,973 a year, only £600 away from using up the personal allowance.

As receiving the full new state pension could soon attract an income tax bill, there have been calls to increase the allowance or to otherwise make sure the state pension is not taxed.

Another petition to Parliament calling for the state pension to be made tax exempt reached over 17,000 signatures. The DWP issued a response in September 2025, saying such a move would be "expensive" and would make the tax system more complex.

The department said: "The Government has no current plans to make the state pension tax exempt. 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. Exempting the state pension from income tax would be expensive at a time when the Government has inherited a very challenging set of fiscal circumstances."