Overview

• ONS earnings growth of 4.7% makes an April 2026 increase of roughly 4.7% the working assumption, taking the full new state pension to about £241.05 a week (£12,535 a year), pending confirmation in the 26 November Budget after September CPI.
• Labour has promised to maintain the triple lock this Parliament, even as officials and industry figures warn the rising bill is unsustainable and float reforms such as raising the state pension age or targeting more support via Pension Credit.
• With the personal allowance frozen at £12,570, the uplift leaves the full new rate within about £35 of the tax threshold, pulling more retirees into income tax; Sir Steve Webb expects those on the full rate alone to be taxpayers by April 2027.
• More than 100,000 pensioners are projected to lose the £300 Winter Fuel Payment next year because the £35,000 income cutoff will not rise, a stance confirmed by minister Torsten Bell.
• DWP data show 45% of 4.5 million new state pension recipients do not get the full amount, and research finds low awareness of ways to improve entitlement, including buying voluntary NI credits or deferring (worth about 5.8% extra for each year deferred).