By Marisa Laudadio
3:09pm PST, Feb 27, 2026
_
Even after his dramatic fall from grace,
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor still has access to taxpayer-funded perks. And he just marked a new milestone that unlocks even more.
Keep reading for the details…MORE:
Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more top news
_
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor just turned 66, making the former Duke of York eligible to claim a state pension worth about $9,500 a year, plus additional benefits like free public transportation in London as well as reduced council tax, which is comparable to property or local taxes in America. While royals don't typically receive these benefits, the monarch's brother qualifies due to his decades of service in the Royal Navy.
_
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor paid National Insurance contributions — the U.K. equivalent to Social Security and Medicare taxes in the U.S. — during his 22 years in the Royal Navy, making him eligible for the payments as what the Brits call an OAP, short for old-age pensioner. However, his weekly pension is slightly reduced from $204 to $182 because he also receives a separate Navy pension worth about $27,000 a year.
_
Some Brits believe Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should consider giving the money away. "If Andrew wants to do the right thing and take steps to improve his reputation then he would do well to donate his state pension to charity," royal commentator
Phil Dampier told
The Sun. "Maybe even [his daughter
Princess]
Eugenie's charity combating modern slavery and human trafficking, The Anti-Slavery Collective."
_
King Charles III — who's been eligible for pension payments for the past 11 years because of his own prior service in the Royal Navy — donates his weekly payments to Age UK, a charity that helps older people, The Sun reported.
_
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's finances and living situation remain under scrutiny amid renewed interest in his links to convicted predator Jeffrey Epstein. King Charles III stripped the former Duke of York of his royal titles and evicted him from his 30-room Crown Estate mansion, Royal Lodge, in recent months and is now privately funding his brother's upkeep, including moving the disgraced ex-royal to a private home on the monarch's Sandringham estate. That's where the former Prince Andrew was arrested on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office after emails made public by the U.S. Justice Department appeared to show that he sent confidential government information to Epstein while serving as Britain's trade envoy.
