State pensioners get new £575 boost - DWP issues statement

Pensioners will receive a boost to their State Pension up to £575 after a 4.8% increase under the triple lock. The Department for Work and Pensions said more than 12 million pensioners will have seen the basic and new State Pension rise by that amount from Monday (April 6).

Pat McFadden, Work and Pensions Secretary, said in a statement hailing the increase: "I know global shocks, and the effects they have on our living costs, will be increasing anxiety for many households. This Government will always protect our pensioners and that’s why we are raising the full rate of new State Pension by up to £575 this coming year."

Under the increase, the full rate of the new State Pension rises by 4.8% in line with the increase in average earnings from £230.25 to £241.30 a week.

The full basic State Pension increases from £176.45 to £184.90 per week, according to the DWP.

The Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit also rises by 4.8% in line with the average earnings increase.

From this month, it will be £238.00 per week for a single pensioner and £363.25 a week for a couple.

With the new tax year beginning on Monday, pensioners are seeing a boost to the amount of income they receive.

Under the triple lock guarantee, the State Pension increases every April in line with whichever is the highest out of total earnings growth in the year from May to July of the previous year, Consumer Prices Index inflation in September of the previous year, or 2.5%.

The State Pension increase came as the State Pension Age started a phased rise. It will gradually increase in steps from 66 to 67, affecting new pensioners.

Rachel Vahey, Head of Public Policy at AJ Bell, said: “While the increase in the state pension age to 67 will come as a shock to many, this is very much the beginning rather than the end of this story.

“Under current plans, the state pension age will rise again to 68 between 2044 and 2046.”

She said that in future, a government may “need to bring this forward – and possibly set out plans to increase the age further still”.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said last week that increasing the State Pension Age delivers significant savings to the public purse, with the rise from 66 to 67 expected to save around £10billion a year by 2029.

But it also said past evidence indicates an increased State Pension Age reduces incomes and increases poverty rates among the affected groups.

The think tank said the effects are felt particularly acutely by those who are already out of work and relying on working-age benefits.