Older state pensioners who retired before April 2016 are set to receive a bumper boost this August, with two rounds of Additional Pension (AP) payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) supplementing their basic state pension.
Those who retired before April 2016 receive less per week in basic weekly payments than new state pensioners, but they qualify for a variety of Additional Pension payments that post-2016 state pensioners do not.
What is Additional Pension?
Additional Pension is the collective term for a series of extra pension schemes which older state pensioners could utilise before the basic state pension was phased out and replaced in 2016 with the new state pension. AP encompasses schemes like State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and Second State Pension.
Although it can no longer be claimed by current state pensioners, those who participated in the schemes, typically through employment, can still receive AP payments from the DWP every week.
How much can you get?
The maximum AP payment is limited to £230.54 per week from April 2026 - in addition to the standard basic pension amount. While state pension figures are often quoted as weekly amounts, DWP state pension payments are actually made every four weeks.
This means that for each four-week period, older state pensioners can receive up to £922.16 from their state pension AP payments. When you're paid depends on the last two digits of your National Insurance number.
Who gets the double payment?
The DWP has stated that those with National Insurance numbers ending in digits between 00 to 19 are typically paid on Mondays. Due to August having five Mondays, state pensioners with these National Insurance numbers will receive their additional pension (AP) payments twice in August 2026 - amounting to a maximum total of £1,844.32 in August, in addition to their basic pension payments.
Consumer magazine Which? clarifies: "Before 2002, you could only contribute to the additional state pension (then known as the state earnings-related pension scheme, or Serps) if you were employed."
"However, under the state second pension scheme, which ran from 2002 to 2016, you could contribute through your National Insurance contributions if you were:"
It further explains: "There is no fixed amount for the additional state pension. The amount of additional state pension you'll get depends on how many years you paid National Insurance for, how much you earned and whether you contracted out of the scheme.
"The maximum additional state pension you can get in 2026-27 is £230.54 a week (not including state pension top-up)."
Regrettably, these AP payments are not exempt from tax and will not be granted a special exemption in the future, as exclusively revealed by the Express.
