Supporting Jersey's Pensioners
- Continue to oppose any attempts to reduce support for Jersey's pensioners, including the value of the States pension.
Statistics recently published demonstrated that over a third of Jersey’s pensioners are living in relative poverty. This is double the rate in the UK. Reform Jersey believes this is unacceptable and must be addressed. The rising cost of living will only exacerbate this for many households which are reliant on the States pension as their only source of income.
Previous governments have rolled back support for pensioners by abolishing the pensioners’ enhanced tax allowance and scaling back the pensioners’ Christmas Bonus. Reform Jersey strongly opposed these changes at the time.
Our policies on rent regulation and GST on food will alleviate some of these cost measures for pensioners on the lowest incomes. An actuarial review on the Social Security Fund is due to be published next year. We will oppose any attempt to undermine the value of the States pension arising from this.