The Department for Work and Pensions has approved an additional £8.45 per week for older state pensioners. State Pension payment rates will change in April after an uprating.
The Department for Work and Pensions is increasing the basic state pension for retirees who were born before 1951 for men and 1953 for women.
Men born before April 6 1951 & women born before April 6 1953 receive the basic State Pension and will see their pension payments increase by 4.8%. This takes the full basic State Pension up from £176.45 per week to £184.90.
This amounts to a weekly cash boost of £8.45 for those on the full rate or £34 a month. Over a full year pensioners can get a maximum of £9614.80 in pension payments compared to £9,175.40 previously. This gives those on the full rate an extra £439.40 annually.
The triple lock ensures that the State Pension maintains its value over time. In practical terms it guarantees that every year it will rise by the highest of average earnings or inflation measured by the Consumer Prices Index or 2.5%.
The State Pension age is currently being gradually increased from 66 to 67 between April 2026 and April 2027 for both men and women. A further rise to 68 is scheduled between 2044 and 2046. How much State Pension you receive depends on various factors.
Two of the most important are when you were born and how many qualifying years of National Insurance contributions you have. You will not receive any New State Pension if you have less than 10 qualifying National Insurance years when you reach State Pension age.
If this applies to you then you may be able to buy National Insurance contributions to get you over the 10-year mark. Whether you get the full Basic amount of £184.90 a week still depends on how many qualifying National Insurance years you have.
