Independent Age and 12 other organisations have written to Pat Mcfadden calling for the government to end the mixed-age couples rule, saying it is leaving thousands of older people without pension-age support. The groups say the policy, introduced in 2019, can prevent around 70,000 low-income couples from getting entitlements designed for older people until both partners reach State Pension age.
The campaigners say the financial hit can be as much as £7,000 a year for affected couples. Independent Age said polling found 62% of the UK public back scrapping the rule so that couples with one partner above State Pension age can receive pension-age entitlements when the older partner qualifies.
Joanna Elson, chief executive of Independent Age, said the system is leaving older people to struggle. “Every day we hear from older people struggling to make ends meet, and for thousands of mixed-age couples the system is making that struggle even harder,” she said. She added that the rule is “unfairly locking around 70,000 older people out of vital pension-age support simply because their partner is younger.”
The letter argues that two people of the same age can be treated very differently depending on who they love, and says the support missing under the current rules could decide whether a household can heat its home, eat properly or pay the rent. The organisations want the UK Government to reverse the rule so couples can claim pensioner benefits such as Pension Credit once the older partner reaches State Pension age.
The issue matters because the rule applies when one partner is below State Pension age and the other is above it, leaving some couples on Universal Credit instead. Campaigners say that benefit is paid at a lower rate and was not designed to meet the needs of people over State Pension age. They also point to 2019 data showing that 12% of couples who could be eligible for Pension Credit had an age gap of more than 10 years, suggesting the problem affects more families than the government may have assumed.
The letter says younger partners in these couples may have health conditions or unpaid caring responsibilities that mean they are unable to work, making the loss of pension-age support even more damaging. Lynn and David from Eastbourne are among those affected. Lynn said the pair have a five-year age gap and have been married for nearly 24 years. She also said David is her full-time carer.
The campaign is landing as the rise in State Pension age moves closer, which the letter says could force more couples to wait longer before they can access pension-age entitlements. For those already living close to the edge, the question is not whether the rule is imperfect. It is whether the government is prepared to keep a system that campaigners say leaves older people poorer simply because their partner is younger.
