MPs set June 15 pensions debate

The UK Parliament petitions site said on May 21 that MPs will debate on June 15 a petition calling for a new tax code for state pensioners with double the personal allowance. The petition closed on April 1 with 119,206 signatures, according to the official petitions page. Under the petitions process, proposals that pass 100,000 signatures are considered by the Petitions Committee for debate in Parliament. The government has already rejected the proposal in its formal response, calling it “untargeted and costly.” ### Which petition is being debated on June 15? Petition 740671 calls for the government to “introduce a new tax code for state pensioners, set at double the basic threshold,” according to the UK Parliament petitions site. The petition says that would give pensioners a higher tax-exempt limit while still leaving wealthier pensioners paying tax. The text on the petition page says the campaign was driven by concern that people with small private or workplace pensions are being taxed unfairly. The official page shows the petition was published on October 1, 2025, and closed on April 1, 2026. ### Why is Parliament debating it now? The petition reached more than 100,000 signatures on February 11, 2026, the petitions site said. Under Parliament’s process, that meant the Petitions Committee would consider it for debate. On May 21, the same page was updated to say: “Parliament will debate this petition on 15 June 2026.” The page also says the debate can be watched on the UK Parliament YouTube channel. ### How many people backed it? The official petitions page lists 119,206 signatures. That total put it above the threshold required for a parliamentary debate to be considered. The petitions site also shows that the proposal waited 64 days for a debate date after qualifying for consideration. The debate itself does not change the law automatically; it gives MPs a scheduled forum to discuss the issue in Westminster. ### What has the government said? HM Treasury responded to the petition on December 9, 2025. The response said the state pension is the “foundation of support” for pensioners and said the government remained committed to the triple lock for the duration of this Parliament. The Treasury response said doubling the personal allowance for pensioners would be “untargeted and costly” and would “disproportionately” benefit higher-income pensioners. It also said the personal allowance was already the highest among G7 countries. The government response added that, from 2027-28, it plans to ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose only income is the basic or new state pension without increments, so they do not have to pay small amounts of tax through Simple Assessment if the state pension rises above the personal allowance. ### What should readers watch next? June 15, 2026, is the next fixed date in the process. The UK Parliament petitions page says MPs will hold the debate that day, and Parliament said the proceedings will be streamed on its YouTube channel. Any further step would come from Parliament’s handling of the debate or from a separate government decision on tax policy. For now, the official record shows a scheduled Westminster debate, a petition total of 119,206, and an existing Treasury response rejecting the proposal.