Andy Burnham is facing fresh pressure after a new petition — now past 7,000 signatures — calls on him to slash the state pension age to 60, a move campaigners say would benefit millions.
A petition by Denver Johnson is begging the DWP to drop the pension age to 60 and crank payments up to 48 hours of the National Living Wage, and it’s staying open until 10 August 2026 — giving Britain plenty of time to shout “I’M TIRED, LET ME RETIRE” at the government.
The petition basically says: “Give us the State Pension at 60 and make it £610 a week — because if we’ve grafted for decades, the least the Government can do is let us retire before our knees file for divorce.”
The petition basically tells Labour: “Stop treating the State Pension like a secret prize only unlocked at 67 — give everyone, including Brits abroad, a proper pension from 60 and tie it to the National Living Wage, because we’d quite like some security before our hips start making snap, crackle and pop noises.”
If this petition hits 10,000 signatures, the Government has to respond, and if it reaches 100,000 it’ll be dragged into Parliament for a debate — meaning Birmingham Live is basically warning Westminster to brace itself for a stampede of very tired people shouting “SORT OUR PENSIONS OUT” before their joints stage a walkout.
The petition stays open until 10 August 2026, giving everyone plenty of time to check their State Pension age, calculate how much they’ll actually get, and quietly mutter “this can’t be right” while clicking through the DWP website like it’s a treasure hunt with no treasure.
If you’re already past State Pension age and living on a modest income, you can apply for Pension Credit to help with everyday costs — and once you’ve hit that magic age, you can also bag yourself an older person’s bus pass for free travel, meaning you can glide around town like royalty while muttering “finally, something useful” at the DWP.
If you’ve hit State Pension age — or you’re living in supported, sheltered or temporary accommodation — you can check whether you qualify for Housing Benefit to help with rent, which is basically the Government saying, “Alright then, let’s make sure you’re not spending your entire pension on a roof over your head.”
If you’re 75 or over and you or your partner get Pension Credit, you can bag yourself a free TV licence — and if you’re in residential care or sheltered accommodation, you can nab a discounted one, meaning the Government will at least make sure you can watch Strictly without paying for the privilege while you check the TV Licensing website like it’s the gateway to televised freedom.
It absolutely should go back to 60 — it makes sense, it frees up jobs for younger people, it eases pressure on hospitals, and forcing everyone to slog on until 67 is just punishing those with health issues, which is why it’s so sad that Great Britain can’t seem to give people the retirement they’ve already earned.
It’s mostly women who end up caring for elderly parents and helping with grandchildren, so letting women retire at 60 isn’t just sensible — it’s basically the Government admitting, “You’ve been running Britain’s unofficial care service for decades, love, have a sit‑down.”
If we were told we could retire at 60, then that’s what should’ve happened — not the Government suddenly moving the goalposts and telling us we’ve got to slog on until 67, like some sort of endurance test nobody signed up for.
It feels like we’ve paid into the system all our lives, only for the Government to act like the pension pot’s been raided for biscuits and office chairs — and now they’re hoping we don’t stick around long enough for them to actually cough up what we’re owed.
By the time we finally get the State Pension, we’ll be so utterly knackered we won’t enjoy a minute of it, and half of us joke we’ll be gone before the Government ever hands over the money we’ve spent a lifetime paying in.
The money we paid in for our pension is our money — it came straight out of our wages so we could get it back at 60, not so the Government could shift the goalposts and act like we’re asking for something we didn’t already earn.
It feels like the Government treated our pension contributions like a dodgy investment scheme — we paid in every month expecting to get it back at 60, and now they’re acting like the money’s vanished into thin air and we’re supposed to just smile and work until 67.
It’s not a benefit at all — it’s our own money that was taken from our wages — but the DWP acts like the State Pension is some sort of generous gift, when the only time it becomes a “benefit” is if someone didn’t pay enough in and needs Pension Credit.
It’s our money, not yours. We paid it in every week of our working lives, and if you’ve spent it badly, that’s tough luck, because you still owe it to us. And if the DWP can’t deliver what people were promised, then they should be held accountable just like any organisation that fails to honour a contract.
You cannot take money from people all their working lives and then refuse to give it back — that’s not a benefit, that’s a broken promise, and people have every right to demand accountability.
Give us our money back — it’s ours, not yours, and refusing to return what we paid in all our working lives feels like theft, plain and simple.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 