Exact amount state pension to rise by next year as inflation figures released
Under the triple lock guarantee, the state pension increases every April in line with whichever is the highest of earnings growth in between May to July, inflation in September, or 2.5%
The state pension is set to rise by more than £574 a year from next April after the latest inflation figures were announced today.
Under the triple lock guarantee, the state pension increases every April in line with whichever is the highest of earnings growth in between May to July, inflation in September, or 2.5%.
Wage growth for May to July was originally thought to be 4.7% but in an update last week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revised this figure upwards to 4.8%.
Inflation is currently at 3.8% after the September figure was announced today - so this means wage growth is likely to be the figure used for the triple lock.
Analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown have revealed that this means the full new state pension should increase from £230.25 a week to £241.30 a week in April 2026. This marks a rise of £574.60 a year to £12,547.60.
However, this is just below the personal allowance - which is the amount you can earn before you start paying tax, and is set at £12,570 - meaning millions may have to pay income tax on their state pension when it rises again in the 2027/28 tax year.
The old basic state pension should increase from £176.45 a week to £184.90 a week (£9,615 a year).
These are the full amounts of state pension that you can get. You may receive less than these amounts depending on your National Insurance record.
You get the new state pension if you're a man born on or after April 6, 1951, or if you're a woman born on or after April 6, 1953. For the new state pension, most people need 35 qualifying years on their National Insurance record to get the full amount.
You claim the older basic state pension if you’re a man born before April 6, 1951, or a woman born before April 6, 1953. The number of qualifying years you need for the full amount varies depending on when you were born and your gender.
For example, men born before April 6, 1945 need 44 years of National Insurance contributions, while men born between 1945 and 1951 need 30 years.
The state pension age is currently set at 66 for men and women but will gradually increase to age 67 between 2026 and 2028, followed by another rise to 68 in the mid-2040s.
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “These increases are not yet set in stone - we will need to wait for the Budget for confirmation.
“This will be another piece of data to be considered as part of the ongoing review into state pension age. Recent data shows the number of people living until their nineties – and even longer – has soared and the government needs to consider how to balance the costs of state pension with the burgeoning pensioner population.
“We won’t hear back from the review for some time, but we could see further increases to state pension age put on the table. We will also see increased debate as to the long-term viability of the triple lock.
“The government had pledged to keep it in place for the remainder of this Parliament but longer term we could see changes on the horizon.”
