State pensioners aged over 80 will receive higher weekly payments of £192.35 from April 2027, including a 25p age addition on top of the triple lock increase.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed new rates for the next financial year. The basic state pension is set to rise by approximately £374 a year, taking weekly payments to £192.10 per week from April 2027, due to a 3.9% increase mandated by the triple lock, which remains in place for 2027.
Who qualifies for the over-80s uplift
Older state pensioners are those who reached state pension age before April 2016. They only qualify for the old 'basic' state pension, which is paid at a lower rate than the new state pension. The old state pension was closed off as of April 2016, meaning those who began claiming DWP payments before that date were only entitled to the old state pension, while younger pensioners claiming after that date received the 'new state pension', which distributes higher weekly payments but no longer includes some elements like Additional Pension (AP) payments.
Someone on a full basic state pension will receive £192.10 per week, increasing from £184.90. Those aged 80 and over are given an additional 25p per week, taking their maximum weekly payment to £192.35 for those with a full National Insurance record and aged over 80, in receipt of the 25p addition. Over the course of a year, that is roughly £13 extra, and this has been kept in place for 2027-28 from April.
History of the age addition
A Research Briefing issued by Parliament in 2013 explains: “Pensioners aged 80 and over receive an addition of 25 pence to their state pension. The age addition was introduced in 1971, in recognition of the special claims of very elderly people who on the whole need help rather more than others.”
“It has never been uprated, with successive Governments either arguing that greater priority should be given to protecting the level of the basic benefits, or choosing to target additional resources at older pensioners by other means, for example, through means-tested benefits or lump sum payments, such as the Winter Fuel Payment.”
Older state pensioners aged over 80 are also eligible for an increased winter fuel payment, paid out at £300 instead of £200.
