Overview
- - The full new state pension increases by 4.8% to £241.30 a week, with the older basic pension rising to £184.90 under the triple lock guarantee.
- - DWP minister Torsten Bell told MPs the government will keep the triple lock for this Parliament, confirming a policy that ties uprating to the highest of inflation, earnings growth or 2.5%.
- - Most other benefits rise by 3.8% in line with inflation, while Pension Credit’s minimum income increases by 4.8% to £238.00 a week for singles and £363.25 for couples, and the severe disability addition reaches £86.05 from April 6.
- - The state pension age begins a phased rise from 66 to 67 starting April 6 and completing by 2028, with the Centre for Ageing Better warning up to 100,000 people could be pushed into poverty and calling for measures such as early access to Pension Credit.
- - New retirees must claim the state pension rather than receiving it automatically, and first payments can vary by National Insurance number schedule, which can catch people out if they do not respond to DWP’s invitation to claim.