Pensioners will be getting an increase of £5.09 a week, if new proposals from Employment & Social Security go through the States.
The proposals are part of ESS's annual report for next year's benefit and contribution rates.
They would see the full rate of old age pension increase by £5.09, to £217.36 a week. For the most part, other benefit rates are set to increase by 2.4%, inline with inflation and median earnings, but this year, inflation has been greater than said earnings, so pensions have been adjusted to keep in line with the "rising cost of living".
Deputy Michelle Le Clerc, President of ESS, said: "this year’s increase means that pensions and other benefits will keep in line with the rising cost of living.”
But a local OAP representative, Margaret Nicolle - the organiser of the St Martins' Age Concern Day Centre - said while it was encouraging there was an increase, it was not enough.
"It certainly isn't increasing at the same rate as everyone's household overheads," she said.
"Gas, water, electricity and so on are all going up and up and it is getting increasingly expensive - really that takes up a lot of people's pensions, especially with the new recycling charges that have come in.
"So I am encouraged that they realise pensions need to increase, but discouraged that they can't be more realistic about the amount it needs to go up by."
Pictured: We know some pensioners struggle on the State pension but it is going up slightly this year
As one of the organisers of three Age Concern Guernsey meetings across the island each week, Mrs Nicolle said they were always cautious with the activities they did to ensure they were affordable. She added many elderly lived in a difficult situation, especially when they were alone, because of how much of their money was spent on bills.
As an additional part of the new proposals, ESS will make an increase to the benefit limitation, rising from £670 to £750 per week. The benefit limitation is theoretically the maximum amount of income support a household can receive, but people’s earnings, other income and other benefits are also taken into account in the calculation.
So the vast majority of those impacted by the benefit limitation will be receiving income support that is much less than £670 per week. The Committee’s policy plan noted their intention to increase the benefit limitation above inflation.
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