Older pensioners across the UK are set to receive boosted State Pension payments of up to £192.10 per week from next April, it has been confirmed. The uplift comes thanks to the triple lock, a UK government guarantee that the State Pension will rise each tax year by whichever is the highest out of the consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation (measured for September the year before), average wage growth between May and July the previous year, or a minimum of 2.5%.
The highest of the triple lock factors has been confirmed as average wage growth at 3.9%, meaning both the new and basic State Pension will go up by this amount from April next year.
Triple Lock Commitment Extended to 2030
New Budget documents released today have confirmed that the Chancellor is going to stand by the triple lock until 2030. The document says: "In line with the government’s commitment to the Triple Lock throughout this Parliament, the State Pension will continue to rise by the highest of 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth each year through to April 2029.
"This is set to see the annual rate of the full new State Pension increase by more than £2,000 over the course of the Parliament, taking the State Pension to a record high relative to earnings.
"The government is committed to delivering a sustainable State Pension system that people can trust will rise every year and be available for current and future pensioners. That is why the government is making those gains permanent by adjusting the Triple Lock from April 2030 so that the State Pension rises each year by the highest of 2.5%, inflation, or the amount required to maintain its value relative to earnings as reached in April 2029."
Inflation and Wage Growth Figures
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the final piece of the triple lock puzzle last week when CPI inflation was announced as 3.5% in September, but this was lower than the 3.9% wage growth figure that has already been published.
As such, pensioners across the UK will get a 3.9% boost to State Pension rates, effective from April 6, 2027. The uplift will take the full basic State Pension up from its current rate of £184.90 per week to a boosted £192.10 per week.
The increase will give pensioners on the basic State Pension who are eligible for the full amount a total of £9,989.20 in State Pension payments per year - an annual boost of up to £374.40 annually on current rates.
Eligibility and New State Pension Rates
You’ll get the basic State Pension if you’re a man born before April 6, 1951, or woman born before April 6, 1953, but your payment amount depends on your National Insurance record. To get the full amount, a man born between 1945 and 1951 usually requires 30 qualifying National Insurance years, while men born before 1945 require 44 qualifying years. For women, you’ll need 30 qualifying years if you were born between 1950 and 1953, or 39 qualifying years if you were born before 1950.
According to figures published by UK Parliament in September, in the quarter ending March 2026, around 7.9 million people (59%) were receiving the basic State Pension in the UK, meaning millions are set to benefit from 3.9% boosted payments of up to £192.10 per week from next April. Of course, 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.
As for younger pensioners who get the new State Pension, a 3.9% increase will see the current weekly rate rise from £241.30 per week to a boosted £250.70 in the 2027 to 2028 tax year. It means pensioners entitled to the full amount would get £13,036.40 in State Pension payments per year—an annual boost of £488.80.
Ed Monk, Associate Director at Fidelity International, said: "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."
As the personal tax allowance has been frozen at £12,570 since 2021, the uplift to State Pension rates means some state pensioners will be caught within the tax net for the first time. The Government has already said pensioners who are wholly dependent on the new State Pension - with no private pension - or the old basic State Pension, "with no increments", will not have to pay tax, even if they exceed the threshold.
