Scrabster pensioner Peter Bodek still concerned about pension increase despite notification of a £5.55 weekly rise

A Scrabster pensioner who was left livid after receiving a letter notifying him of a 15p increase in his benefit is still not satisfied after being told he will in fact be getting £5.55 a week extra in total.

Peter Bodek, of Wolfburn Road, expressed his anger last week after receiving a letter showing a 15p increase in his benefit and he phoned up the Pension Service to state how he felt.

In response to the article a spokesperson from the Department of Work and Pensions pointed out that: "The letter to Mr Bodek does not show what he is currently getting, just what his new award will be from April. He will currently be getting £179.60 (+15p assuming his Protected Payment is already in place), as that is the full new state pension amount for this year.

"This is going up to £185.15 in April (the amount noted in the letter), so Mr Bodek will actually receive £5.55 per week more."

After being told of the full increase Mr Bodek said: "It did not say that in the letter. I did contact them about it and they did not explain that to me at the time. It stated 15p in the letter, that was the only figure I got."

"Basically that still is not enough. Look at the price of fuel and electric and all that – you still cannot afford it. Look at the average shopping and how much it is going up, it is quite a big jump."

Read more: Scrabster pensioner Peter Bodek 'livid' at 15p pension increase

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