
British pensioners born in certain years are getting up to £2,797 more per year in State Pension payments compared to other retirees. The State Pension system in the UK is split into two different schemes, each of which is paid at a different rate. There is a basic and a new State Pension, and the one you qualify for is dependent on when you reach retirement age. Men born on or after April 6, 1951, and women born on or after April 6, 1953, are eligible to claim the new State Pension once they reach State Pension age, which is currently 66.
Those who get this State Pension can get up to £230.25 per week in pension payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which amounts to £11,973 per year – and a whopping £2,797.60 more annually than those who get the full basic State Pension.
The basic State Pension, by comparison, is only worth up to £176.45 per work if you get the full amount, which over a full year adds up to £9,175.40 in payments from the DWP.
The State Pension rates increase at the start of every new tax year on April 6, with both pension schemes being uprated by 4.1% this year in line with the annual increase in the average weekly earnings index for May to July 2024, under the rules of the Triple Lock.
But despite the rates going up, younger pensioners who qualify for the full new State Pension are still significantly better off compared to older generations on the basic scheme.
The DWP said the new rates introduced in April this year will give pensioners on the new State Pension an extra £470 per year, whereas the basic scheme is only worth an extra £360 annually.
But age isn’t the only factor in determining which State Pension you get, with everyone who is eligible for the basic State Pension having already reached State Pension age, the amount of money you get also depends on your National Insurance record.
So if you’re on the new State Pension and you get less than £230.25 per week then you might need more National Insurance qualifying years to boost your weekly payments. You need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to get any new State Pension and you usually need 35 qualifying years to get the full amount.
Commenting on the new rates earlier this year, the DWP said: “With uprating in effect, pensioners receiving the full basic State Pension will see their weekly payments rise from £169.50 to £176.45 per week, worth an additional £360 a year.
“In addition, the full rate of the new State Pension will increase from £221.20 to £230.25 per week, an increase of £470 a year.”