Overview
- The Department for Work and Pensions is paying the Winter Fuel Payment of up to £300 now, alongside an automatic £10 Christmas Bonus for people on qualifying benefits.
- From April 2026, the New and Basic State Pensions will rise by 4.8% to £241.30 and £184.90 a week respectively, taking the full new rate to £12,547 a year.
- From 2027/28 for the rest of this Parliament, people whose sole income is the state pension will not have to file or pay small amounts of income tax if the pension exceeds the personal allowance.
- Attendance Allowance will increase by 3.8% from April 2026 to a maximum of about £5,959 a year, while Scotland continues transferring pension‑age disability claims to Pension Age Disability Payment.
- Pension Credit supports about 1.4 million people with an average of roughly £4,300 a year, though awards can be reduced where savings exceed £10,000 under notional income rules.