A proposed £170 state pension for single people and £300 for couples together with free social care has been announced.

Kent Green Party say they support a major shift in public spending to secure a state pension of £170 per week and a better future for older people.

This new Green Party policy is based upon the Green Party’s endorsement of the Pensioners' Manifesto produced by the National Pensioners' Convention, one of the largest campaigning organisations for pensioners' rights in the UK. They are currently the only one of the main four parties to support their campaign.

Press spokesman for the Kent Green Party, Steve Dawe said: “The Green Party supports a non-means-tested £170 per week, as well as free social care for all who need it, as is currently offered in Scotland. Adding to the incomes of poor households would mean both more saving and some more spending in local shops.

"The figure of £170 per week is calculated as the minimum required to keep the basic state pension above the official poverty line, according to the National Pensioners' Convention. It has called upon all parties to sign up to their Pensioners' Manifesto, which calls for a range of measures to improve conditions for older people.

“They also support an end to the fixed retirement age, meaning that many pensioners might continue working beyond retirement. By doing so, they would continue to contribute tax and national insurance, helping to keep down the actual costs of the new pension level.”

The Green Party claim there are roughly 12 million pensioners living in the UK and a further 1 million living abroad. Paying a single rate of £170 per week, and a couples rate of £300 per week, will cost £110bn per year. The current basic state pension, plus certain other specific pensioner benefits like Pensions Credits - which would become redundant if the basic pension rate was raised to the level we propose - costs £70bn.

They say for the remaining £40 billion, they would abolish tax relief on pension contributions of £20 billion, and the national insurance rebate on employer and employee contributions to private pensions chemes of £19 billion. The final £1 billion they claim will come from increased income tax receipts from pensioners.

© Hawkinge Gazette and Channel Coast News 2010