Assistant Editor – News & Investigations
16 September 2025
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The State Pension is set to go up by 4.7% from April 2026 under what’s known as the ‘triple lock’ guarantee – though the exact monetary increase you’ll get depends on which version of the State Pension you receive. The rise also means many more will start paying tax on their State Pension from April 2027, MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis points out.
Martin Lewis: ‘State Pension set to rise’
MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis explained the State Pension news on X:
Martin Lewis
MSE founder & chair
NEWS. The State Pension is set to rise 4.7% next April. We know this as it is ‘triple locked’ – ie, it rises by the higher of 2.5% or inflation or the rise in average earnings. The key figure has just come in for earnings to July and it’s likely to be the highest of the three, at 4.7%.
So based on that, the FULL State Pension (for someone with all the qualifying National Insurance years) is set to rise from…
NEW state pension: £230.25 to £241.05 a week.
OLD state pension (retirees pre-April 2016): £176.45 to £184.75 a week.
This will take someone on the full new State Pension to £12,535 a year, only £35 below the frozen personal allowance (amount you can earn tax-free each year).
So as State Pension income is taxable, that means without any question the following year (unless something changes), those on the full new State Pension with no other income will for the first time pay tax on it (as it will rise a minimum 2.5% and personal allowances are frozen).
PS. Technical note: if September’s inflation is above 4.7% that would mean an even higher rise, but I am – like everyone else – assuming that won’t be the case. Thus I’m focusing on the average earnings for the three months to July as the key metric.
How the triple lock works
Under the triple lock, the State Pension typically goes up each April by the highest of: average wage growth between May and July (including bonuses), September’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation measure, or 2.5%.
The figure for average wage growth has today (Tuesday 16 September) been confirmed as 4.7% by the Office for National Statistics. Inflation is forecast to stay below this level for the rest of the year – it’s currently at 3.8% – which means the State Pension is likely to increase by 4.7% from April 2026 – though this probably won’t be confirmed by the Government until the Budget on 26 November 2025.
The new State Pension is expected to rise by over £560 a year
One in three (36% of) state pensioners – 4.7 million – get the new State Pension. You’ll be on it if you reached State Pension age after April 2016.
NEW State Pension predicted rise from April 2026
Year
Weekly payment (1)
Annual amount (2)
2025/26 (current)
£230.25
£11,973
2026/27 (new – if increased by 4.7%)
£241.05
£12,534.60
Increase
£10.80
£561.60
Those on the basic State Pension will see a smaller cash increase
Nearly two thirds (64%) of state pensioners – 8.4 million – get the basic State Pension. You’ll be on it if you reached State Pension age before April 2016.
OLD, basic State Pension predicted rise from April 2026
Year
Weekly payment (1)
Annual amount (2)
2025/26 (current)
£176.45
£9,175.40
2025/26 (new – if increased by 4.7%)
£184.75
£9,607
Increase
£8.30
£431.60
Can you turn £800 into £5,500 by boosting your State Pension?
The headline figures above only apply to those who get the full State Pension, which comes from having enough National Insurance (NI) years – usually around 35 (though it varies widely). Many, especially those on lower incomes, don’t have their full years, so get a lower pension and therefore their monetary rise will be smaller still.
If you don’t get the full amount, there are two main ways you can increase it – claiming free NI credits or buying extra years. The first is a no-brainer if you’re eligible, but the other option needs to be considered carefully. For full info, see our step-by-step State pension boosting guide.