Older state pensioners will not receive the full £488.80 triple lock increase confirmed for April 2027, leaving them £114 a year behind new state pensioners.
The triple lock is the system by which the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) must raise state pension payments every year. Pensions must rise by either wage growth, inflation or a flat 2.5%, whichever is highest. With wage growth at 3.9%, inflation at 3.5%, and both above 2.5%, wage growth will be used to calculate next April's boost.
New State Pension Increase
Someone on the full new state pension will receive £250.70 per week from next April, up from £241.30 per week currently, amounting to £1,086 per month in DWP payments. The new state pension, introduced in 2016, applies to all men born after April 5, 1951, and women born after April 5, 1953.
In contrast, older state pensioners who retired before 2016 are only eligible for the old basic state pension. Even with a full National Insurance record, they will receive less. Someone on a full basic state pension would get £192.10 per week, increasing from £184.90, reaching around £9,989 per year under the new calculations.
Gap Between Pensioners
This means older state pensioners get £114 less added to their annual state pension than new state pensioners, and the gap will remain. A new state pensioner will receive a total of £13,036 per year, while an older state pensioner will get only £9,989.
Older state pensioners can use Pension Credit to top up some of the difference, but only if they do not have other savings or income, as Pension Credit is means tested whereas the state pension is not.
Future Triple Lock Changes
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously said that from April 2030, Labour plans to adjust the triple lock, which is used to increase state pensions each April. The state pension overhaul would help to fund a new National Care Service in England.
Under the plans, the state pension would continue to rise every year at least by CPI (Consumer Prices Index) inflation or 2.5%, with the door left open to rising by more in some years so that the state pension holds its value relative to average worker earnings.
