A boost for new state pensioners will be paid in full for all state pensioners in July following a triple lock boost that began rolling out in April.
New, post-2016 state pensioners – those aged under 76 – are being handed a financial boost worth up to £575 a year or £44.20 every four weeks, which began in April. The state pension is guaranteed to increase every year based on one of three metrics – inflation, wage growth or a flat 2.5%, and this is protected by law for both the new post-2016 state pension and the older, basic state pension.
The DWP has confirmed that the Triple Lock will result in an approximate £575 maximum annual increase for new state pensioners and it was put in place starting in April. That’s because the key average earnings figure was confirmed at 4.8%, which is higher than inflation and, of course, higher than the 2.5% minimum floor for increases.
New state pensioners are those who hit state pension age after April 2016. In April 2016, the state pension age was set at 66 rising to 67, which means that new state pensioners today are aged 78 or younger.
The new post-2016 state pensioners will get up to £44.20 extra each four-weekly payment period, assuming they have a full National Insurance record.
Those with incomplete records will see lower total take-home for their pension payments, depending on how far off the full record they are, which the DWP calculates on a case-by-case basis when you first hit state pension age.
Older state pensioners have seen their payments increase from £176.45 to £184.90, while new state pensioners have seen theirs rise from the previous £230.25 to £241.30 per week, for those with a full National Insurance record.
The Civil Service Pensions Alliance’s General Secretary Sally Tsoukaris said: “We welcome the 4.8% increase and recognise that for many pensioners the uplift will provide essential help with everyday costs. However, presenting the maximum possible increase as if it applies to everyone glosses over a more complicated reality. For many pensioners, particularly older women and those with interrupted working lives, the increases to their State Pension are much more modest.
“CSPA urges caution when reporting these figures, as headlines focusing on the maximum total risk masking longstanding inequities within the State Pension system. The distinction matters, because it helps keep attention focused on those pensioners who remain most at risk of financial insecurity in later life, with one in six older people living in poverty and many more are struggling to reach a basic standard of living.”