Overview
- The revised ONS earnings figure of 4.8% points to the Triple Lock setting next April’s increase, taking the full New State Pension to about £241.30 a week or roughly £12,547 a year.
- Those on the full Basic State Pension are projected to receive about £184.90 a week, with annual payments around £9,614.
- Analysts say the rising pension is now brushing the £12,570 tax‑free threshold, with some warning that many pensioners could start paying income tax next year and that the full rate could pass the allowance by 2027 without policy changes.
- The Institute of Economic Affairs argues the Triple Lock is fiscally unsustainable, estimating about £23 billion in additional annual state pension spending by the end of the decade compared with inflation‑linking.
- The state pension age is scheduled to begin rising from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028, and a two‑tier system persists with around 8.5 million older retirees still on the lower basic pension.