Overview
- The Department for Work and Pensions confirmed late May that it will keep the Triple Lock for the rest of this Parliament and that the 4.8% uprating applied from April 6, securing higher weekly State Pension payments.
- Key cash changes from the uprating include the full new State Pension rising to £241.30 per week, the Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee for single claimants to £238 per week, the Additional Pension adding about £439 a year for eligible claimants, and the Severe Disability Premium increasing to £86.05 per week.
- The DWP is urging pensioners to check entitlement to means‑tested Pension Credit, which it says averages about £4,300 a year and remains under‑claimed by roughly 760,000 eligible people.
- Practical problems have followed the uprating: some recipients face two state pension payments in June because of the payment calendar and others may face tax bills because frozen personal allowances interact with mixed incomes.
- Political pressure for change is growing after calls from figures such as Tony Blair to scrap the Triple Lock, while former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb and other analysts warn that ending it now could leave millions worse off and the Pensions Commission and think tanks continue to propose alternatives without government adoption.