The full new State Pension increased to £230.25 per week from April 2026 — the latest annual uprating under the triple lock guarantee, which requires pensions to rise by the highest of inflation, average earnings growth, or 2.5%.
For the 2026-27 tax year, the increase of 4.1% was driven by average earnings growth, delivering around £465 more per year for those on the full new State Pension.
Who Gets the New vs Old State Pension
Anyone who reached State Pension age (currently 66 for both men and women) on or after 6 April 2016 receives the new State Pension. The maximum full rate is £230.25 per week.
Those who reached State Pension age before April 2016 receive the basic State Pension under the old system. The full basic rate is £176.45 per week from April 2026 — a lower figure that reflects the different qualifying periods required.
How Much Will You Actually Receive?
Your state pension amount depends on your National Insurance record. You need at least 10 qualifying years to receive any state pension, and 35 qualifying years to receive the full new State Pension.
Each year short of 35 reduces your pension proportionally. A person with 28 qualifying years would receive 28/35 of the full rate — around £184 per week.
You can check your state pension forecast on the government's Check your State Pension service at gov.uk/check-state-pension.
Pension Credit
Pension Credit tops up income for pensioners on lower incomes. The standard minimum guarantee is rising to £227.10 per week for single pensioners from April 2026.
Around 800,000 eligible pensioners are not claiming Pension Credit. This matters because eligibility for Pension Credit also triggers access to the Warm Home Discount, free TV licence for over-75s, and Housing Benefit.
Deferring Your State Pension
You can choose to delay taking your State Pension, which increases the weekly amount you eventually receive. Deferring by a full year currently increases your pension by 5.8% — roughly the equivalent of 13 weeks of deferred payments.
