The State Pension is set to increase by 4.8% from April, but not all pensioners are paid at the same rates.
Younger state pensioners across the UK are poised to receive up to £2,932 more in State Pension payments annually from April due to the triple lock.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed a 4.8% increase to both the basic and new State Pension in the 2026/27 tax year, providing retirees with an additional cash boost. The annual increase in the State Pension is determined by the highest of three factors – known as the ‘triple lock’.
These include the consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation (measured for September in the previous year), average wage growth between May and July of the previous year, or 2.5%. As average wage growth was the highest figure out of the triple lock factors at 4.8%, above inflation and the 2.5% minimum floor for increases, this is the amount that State Pension rates will rise by from April 2026.
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However, as the UK’s State Pension system is divided into two different schemes – basic and new – not all pensioners will receive the same rate.
The 4.8% increase means that younger pensioners who qualify for the new State Pension are set to receive up to £241.30 per week from April, which amounts to £12,547.60 per year if you get the full rate, reports the Express.
You can claim the new State Pension when you reach State Pension age if you’re a man born on or after 6 April 1951, or a woman born on or after 6 April 1953. But those who are older and born before these dates receive the basic State Pension instead, which is paid at a lower rate.
Pensioners who receive this State Pension could get up to £184.90 per week from April, equating to £9,614.80 annually if you receive the full rate.
This implies that younger pensioners who are eligible for the new State Pension could receive up to £2,932.80 more annually than older retirees on the basic pension scheme.
In her Budget speech announcing the 4.8% increase to State Pension rates, Ms Reeves stated: “I am increasing the basic and new State Pension by 4.8%, an increase of £440 per year for the basic State Pension and an increase of £575 per year for the new State Pension in line with our commitment to the triple lock.”
According to UK Parliament, approximately 8.57 million pensioners claimed the basic State Pension in the 2024/25 tax year, while only 4.38 million were new State Pension claimants. As the vast majority of pensioners receive the basic State Pension, it means around 8.57 million are set to miss out on up to £2,932.80 annually when the new rates come into effect.
However, age isn’t the sole factor in determining which State Pension you receive, with everyone eligible for the basic State Pension having already reached State Pension age, but the amount of money you receive also depends on your National Insurance record.
The DWP states that if your National Insurance record started after April 2016 then you will need 35 qualifying years to receive the full rate of the new State Pension.
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