A growing campaign to protect pensioners from income tax has reached a critical milestone, forcing the government to formally respond to demands for a special tax code that would double personal allowances for retirees.
Petition Surpasses Critical Threshold
The parliamentary petition, created by Timothy Hugh Mason, has now attracted 11,959 signatures, surpassing the 10,000 threshold that requires an official government response. This development comes as concerns mount about pensioners being dragged into the tax net due to frozen thresholds and rising state pension payments.
Currently, the personal tax allowance stands at £12,570, with anyone earning above this amount paying basic rate tax at 20%. This threshold has remained frozen since 2021 and is set to remain unchanged until at least 2028 under current government plans.
State Pensioners Face Tax Dilemma
The campaign gains urgency as analysis shows the full new State Pension is expected to increase to £241.30 weekly (£12,548 annually) in April 2026 under the triple lock guarantee. This places pension income just £22 below the current tax threshold, meaning even modest private pension income could push retirees into tax territory.
Fresh reports suggest Chancellor Rachel Reeves may extend the threshold freeze until 2030, a move that could generate approximately £8 billion for the Treasury but would inevitably see more pensioners paying income tax.
A Treasury spokesperson maintained their standard position, stating: "We do not comment on speculation around changes to tax outside of fiscal events."
Growing Public Pressure on Tax Reform
The pensioner tax petition isn't the only campaign gaining traction. Another petition calling for the basic threshold to be increased from £12,570 to £20,000 has also surpassed 10,000 signatures. This follows an earlier petition that amassed an impressive 281,792 signatures before closing during the summer, demonstrating widespread public concern about tax thresholds.
Campaign organisers highlighted that the earlier petition ranked amongst the largest ever recorded on the Parliament website, indicating the strength of public sentiment on this issue.
Government Weighs Fiscal Responsibility Against Public Demand
James Murray, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, has previously cautioned that increasing the tax threshold to £20,000 would impose a significant financial burden, estimating the cost at £50 billion.
Murray stated: "I recognise the views of everyone who has put their name to the petition, and let me be clear that, as a Government, we want taxes on working people and on pensioners, who have worked hard all their lives, to be as low as possible."
He emphasised the government's commitment to fiscal responsibility, warning that unfunded tax cuts could lead to "economic chaos and the collapse of public services."
The petition now awaits official government response, while campaigners continue gathering support. If the petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it could trigger a parliamentary debate, putting additional pressure on the government ahead of the next Budget announcement.
