State pensioners aged 77 and under are set to receive an extra £9.40 per week from next April as annual State Pension rates rise in line with the triple lock. The increase comes ahead of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's plans to end the triple lock in 2030.
Rise in line with wage growth
The triple lock is a UK Government guarantee that the State Pension will rise every year by the highest of three measures: the consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation, average wage growth between May and July the previous year, or a minimum of 2.5%. While Mr Burnham has unveiled plans to end the triple lock in 2030 to remove the link to average earnings, the system is set to remain unchanged until the end of this Parliament.
As such, State Pension rates are set to rise by 3.9% from April 2027 in line with average wage growth, as it is the highest out of the triple lock measures, as it was last year.
New and basic State Pension increases
With a 3.9% boost to rates in the pipeline, this would take the new State Pension from £241.30 per week up to £250.70, giving pensioners entitled to the maximum amount an extra £9.40 per week in the 2027 to 2028 tax year. Over a full 12 months, this amounts to an annual payment boost of £488.80 if you are eligible for the full amount.
This uplift would apply to new state pensioners who reached State Pension age from April 6, 2016, when the qualifying age was set at 63 to 65. This later continued to rise to age 66, meaning new state pensioners will now all be aged under 77.
As for older pensioners who get the old basic State Pension, a 3.9% increase would take rates to £192.10 per week, up from £184.90, giving pensioners entitled to the full amount a weekly payment increase of £7.20, or an extra £374.40 annually. You will get the basic State Pension if you are a man born before April 6, 1951, or woman born before April 6, 1953, but your payment amount depends on your National Insurance record.
These figures are based on the maximum possible amount for those with a full qualifying National Insurance record, so those without enough qualifying years will receive less.
Expert reaction and future plans
Ed Monk, Associate Director at Fidelity International, explained: "The State Pension in the current 2026/27 financial year is set at £241.30 a week, or £12,548 a year, for those claiming the full new State Pension. That follows a 4.8% rise from the year before based on the increase in wages, which was the highest of the three measures.
"And we now know the rise that will apply in the 2027-28 tax year. In April 2027 the State Pension will rise to £250.70 a week - £13,036.40 a year - following a 3.9% rise in wages that was confirmed in labour market data published this month.
"Consider that as recently as the 2022/23 tax year it was just £185.15 a week - meaning that by next year it will have risen by more than 35% in five years."
Under Mr Burnham's plans, the triple lock will end in 2030 and instead move to a proposed 'double lock' system which would see State Pension rates increase either by CPI inflation or a minimum of 2.5%. The PM said this would generate "significant savings" by removing the link to average earnings, with this money then freed up to help build up a new National Care Service.
Mr Burnham said the State Pension "will hold its value relative to earnings over time so that pensioners will always share in the rising prosperity of the nation".
In response to Mr Burnham's announcement, Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, said: "For millions of people, the state pension is the bedrock of retirement income and will continue to be so.
"Increases in earnings will still have a role to play, so pensioners are able to share in the relative prosperity and won't lose out if UK earnings significantly outperform price increases. However, it's unclear how this will work in practice… We await the detail."
