Overview
- The DWP acknowledged a Universal Credit miscalculation where staff failed to deduct pension contributions, revising one case by about £110 a month and updating guidance to prevent repeats.
- About 760,000 people who qualify for Pension Credit are not claiming it, worth an average of roughly £4,300 a year per household.
- Officials report nearly 78% of new Pension Credit claims now complete within 50 working days, with a sharp fall in outstanding cases.
- From April 2026, the full new State Pension rises 4.8% to £241.30 a week and the basic State Pension to £184.90, Pension Credit standard amounts increase, and PIP’s maximum weekly rate moves to £194.60, with letters going to claimants.
- HMRC will recover Winter Fuel Payments from higher-income pensioners via tax codes, typically deducting about £17 a month in 2026–27 for a £200 payment, while an out-of-court WASPI settlement included £180,000 toward legal costs ahead of a new compensation decision expected in early March, and Age UK warns pensioner poverty could exceed two million with £2.1bn in Pension Credit unclaimed.