The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that older state pensioners with a full National Insurance record can receive up to £739.60 in their October state pension payment. The payment rates for basic rate state pensioners are adjusted every April in line with the triple lock, although the triple lock is set to be ended from 2030.
Payment rates for older pensioners
Those who retired before April 2016 receive less per week than new state pensioners in their basic weekly payments, at £184.90 rather than £241.30, even after the recent Triple Lock boost which added another 4.8% in April. This does not include any Additional Pension or SERPs payments they can get, unlike new state pensioners.
For every four-week period, older state pensioners will get up to £739.60 from their basic rate state pension payments, as long as they have maximised their National Insurance record. Those with incomplete records will see lower total take-home for their pension payments, depending on how far off the full record they are, which the DWP calculates on a case-by-case basis when you first hit state pension age.
Annual sum and Pension Credit boost
The annual sum of basic rate state pension payments for an older state pensioner comes to £9,614.80. This is still a few thousand pounds lower than the basic rate for new, post-2016 state pensioners, but there is also another DWP rule which will allow older state pensioners to boost their weekly payments, depending on their income and savings.
Pension Credit is a benefit which older state pensioners (and new state pensioners) can use to boost their income. For example, an older state pensioner who only qualifies for the basic state pension will get £184.90 per week. But Pension Credit tops up this amount up to £238 per week, which is only a few pounds less than the new state pension anyway (£241.30).
However, your other income, such as work earnings, property income, savings interest or a private pension, is counted first, and you won't be able to get the full amount if you have exceeded income limits.
Future changes and additional payments
The triple lock itself is set to be axed, knocked down to a less lucrative 'double lock' from 2030, with wage growth removed from the calculation, which Prime Minister Andy Burnham says will be used to fund free social care instead.
Older state pensioners can also continue to get access to Additional Pension (AP) schemes, such as SERPS, and Second State Pension, which could mean that their total state pension payments would be higher than the base amounts mentioned here. Though the schemes are now no longer open to join, those who were enrolled in existing AP schemes through their employer before retirement are still being paid AP amounts each week on top of their basic pension payments.
