State pension to rise by up to £473 next year as Rachel Reeves confirms Budget changes
MILLIONS of people are set for a bumper rise of up to £473 to their state pension payments, it has been confirmed today.
It comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced as part of today’s Autumn Statement that the pension triple lock will remain intact.
The Autumn Statement provides an update on the government’s plans for the economy.
These are issued twice a year, once at the Budget in the spring and once at the Autumn Statement.
Ms Reeves presents the plans for the next year during a speech in the House of Commons which includes tax and spending changes.
The amount pensioners get from the state rises every year in order to keep up with the cost of things like food and household bills.
The Chancellor has now confirmed that payments will increase by 4.1% in April 2025.
That’s because the triple lock system sees the state pension rise in line with whatever is highest out of: wages for May to July, 2.5% or September’s inflation figures.
She said: “Our manifesto committed to the triple lock… to ensure that our pensioners are protected in their retirement.
“This commitment means that while working age benefits will be uprated in line with CPI, at 1.7%, the basic and new state pension will be uprated by 4.1% in 2025-26.
“This means that over 12 million pensioners will gain up to £470 next year, up to £275 more than if uprated by inflation.”
Growth in employees’ average total pay was 4.1% in the three months to July, while the UK’s rate of inflation fell to 1.7% in September.
It means pensioners on the new state pension will be looking at as much as £473 a year.
This is up from just over £11,502 to £11,973 a year, and a weekly rise from £221.20 a week to £230.31.
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Today’s news spells good news for pensioners who can look forward to a 4.1% increase in their state pension from next year.
However, the rise will be largely wiped out by the government’s decision to restrict the Winter Fuel payment to pensioners on Pension Credit.
“With fuel bills on the rise, the loss of up to £300 will be sorely felt and many face a tough Winter ahead.”
It’s important to note that this is for those entitled to a “full” new state pension – not everyone will receive the full amount.
How much individuals get is based on the number of qualifying years they’ve accrued.
Older pensioners who retired before April 2016 will get a weekly rise from £169.48 to £176.45, and an annual rise from £8,812.96 to £9,175.61.
The news today will come as a welcome relief for millions of pensioners.
Last year, pensions rose by 8.5% in line with wages for May to July.
BRITAIN’S MOST MEMORABLE BUDGETS
Today is the first Labour budget for 14 years – and the first ever to be delivered by a female Chancellor.
Brits are bracing for a raft of tax hikes as Rachel Reeves tries to plug the “£22billion black hole” she says she’s found in government accounts.
Here are five other budgets which have caused a stir over the years.
1979 – Geoffrey Howe, Conservative
Margaret Thatcher’s Chancellor Geoffrey Howe slashed both the top rate of income tax and the standard rate.
He also doubled VAT – shifting the tax burden from income to consumption in a huge change for Brits.
Howe also eased controls on foreign exchange in a bid to control inflation.
The budget signalled a massive break from the last Labour government and set the pattern for decades to come.
1988 – Nigel Lawson, Conservative
Nigel Lawson (dad to domestic goddess Nigella) massively slashed income tax again.
The deputy Commons speaker twice cleared the chamber amid noisy protests from Labour MPs slamming the tax cuts.
Lawson also set off a property bonanza by announcing an end to double mortgage tax relief for couples buying homes.
1993 – Norman Lamont, Conservative
In March 1993 the economy was still reeling from Black Wednesday, when the pound crashed out of the European exchange rate mechanism.
Lamont announced tax rises including VAT on domestic gas and electricity.
Later that year Lamont’s successor Ken Clarke froze personal tax allowance and brought in stealth taxes on insurance and plane passengers.
The Lamont and Clarke budgets marked the end of the Tories’s scything tax cuts – and set the stage for Labour’s return to office in 1997.
2002 – Gordon Brown, Labour
Brown raised national insurance by a penny on the pound to fund higher spending on the NHS.
The future PM had fretted over a possible backlash from voters who had re-elected Labour in 2001.
But he managed to pull off the largest rise in health spending in the history of the NHS.
2009 – Alistair Darling, Labour
Labour’s last budget before today came amid the credit crunch and soaring unemployment.
Darling ramped up taxes and borrowing in a bid to fill up draining Treasury coffers.
Tory leader David Cameron blasted Labour’s ‘utter mess’ – and was in power a year later.
2022 – Kwasi Kwarteng, Conservative
Kwarteng unveiled his economic package less than a month after becoming Liz Truss’s Chancellor.
Technically, it was a fiscal statement rather than a budget – but it turned out to be just as seismic.
Rising Tory star Kwarteng announced £45billion in tax cuts including a drop in all rates of income tax.
Markets took frights and the pound went into freefall before the Bank of England waded in to stop a run on UK pension funds.
Mortgage rates soared and Kwarteng was out of the job just three weeks later.
The year before, they rose by a whopping 10.1% following high inflation in September.
How much state pension will I actually get?
The amount of new state pension you receive depends on your National Insurance (NI) record throughout your adult life.
If you have made at least 35 years of qualifying NI contributions, you may qualify for the maximum amount, outlined above.
The same is true if you have received equivalent credits on your NI record for raising children or providing care.
If you don’t have 35 years, you may be able to top up your record by paying in voluntary NI contributions.
To get the full basic state pension you will need 30 years of NI contributions or credits.
To get any state pension at all, you will need at least 10 years on your NI record.
WATCH RACHEL REEVES ON NEVER MIND THE BALLOTS
By Ryan Sabey, Deputy Political Editor
RACHEL Reeves will be grilled in a special Budget edition of The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show today.
Our Political Editor Harry Cole will put the Chancellor on the spot shortly after she’s finished delivering her crucial address in the House of Commons.
It will be available to watch on thesun.co.uk, YouTube and Sun social channels at 5.30pm.
Topics will include her decision on whether to spare motorists a fuel duty rise, and the expected eye-watering tax rises she will impose.
Since its launch earlier this year, NMTB has cemented its place at the heart of British politics.
During the General Election campaign The Sun was the only print publisher to host back-to-back grillings of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer.
Footage from The Election Showdown has been viewed over 15 million times.
NMTB has also featured interviews with ex-PMs Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, as well as senior politicians Nigel Farage, James Cleverly, Wes Streeting, Steve Reed and Bridget Phillipson
What age do I get the state pension?
In response to rising life expectancy, the age at which you become eligible to receive the state pension has been going up.
The age is now 66 for both men and women and is set to reach 68 by 2039.
How do I claim the state pension?
You won’t automatically get the state pension – you need to claim it once you’re eligible.
You should receive a letter no later than two months before you reach state pension age, explaining what to do.
You can find out more here.
You can choose to defer getting the state pension – you don’t have to take it as soon as you are eligible when you reach state pension age.
Leaving your state pension untouched can boost the amount you eventually get.
If you opt to defer your state pension, your entitlement increases by the equivalent of 1% for every five weeks you do so.
As the state system can be tricky to navigate, a key part of any pension planning involves requesting a state pension forecast.
This will help you get your head around how much you could be eligible to receive, and from what age.
State Pension boost comes with a catch
By Laura Purkess, consumer features editor and consumer champion
Pensioners are set to see yet another bumper rise to their state pension next year thanks to the triple lock mechanism.
But while the latest rise is positive, it’s important to remember that these increases are intended to simply keep the state pension in line with rising living costs.
So, for most pensioners, it won’t have a material impact on their living standards – it should just keep them roughly the same.
This year in particular, the rise may not have the desired impact for millions of pensioners as the winter fuel payment is set to be axed.
While pensioners are set to see a hefty £473 rise next year based on rising wages, for millions of those people this will largely just offset the loss of up to £300 – so they will actually be worse off.
Experts have also repeatedly warned that the amount paid out is generally not enough to give most pensioners a comfortable retirement.
It’s more than vital than ever that those relying on the State Pension ensure they are claiming any extra benefits they are entitled to.
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