Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Torsten Bell has confirmed new rates from April
09:22, 10 Mar 2026Updated 11:23, 10 Mar 2026
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Torsten Bell confirmed the new state pension rates in Parliament(Image: Parliament TV)
The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed a major boost for UK state pensioners from April this year. At Work and Pensions questions in the House of Commons on Monday, March 9, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Torsten Bell said that the final sum people will see as an increase from next month is £575 a year.
He added that DWP projections show that people should be getting £2,100 a year extra by April 2029. He told the chamber: “The yearly amount of the full new state pension is projected to rise by about £2,100 a year over the current Parliament. That reflects the Government’s commitment to the triple lock for the duration of the Parliament. Payments of both the basic and new state pensions will increase by 4.8% in a few weeks’ time, boosting pensioners’ incomes by up to £575 a year.”
Labour’s Peter Prinsley then asked about pensioners who are struggling to survive: “We welcome the Government’s commitment to the triple lock, but some pensioners in my constituency continue to live in poverty and isolation, and are in need of food banks. What specific measures can the Government take to reduce social isolation and tackle poverty in this group of people?”
Mr Bell replied: “Pensioner poverty halved under the last Labour Government, but it has risen more recently. That is why it is so important that, as well as increasing the state pension, we have put in place the biggest-ever take-up campaign for pension credit and focused on the cost of essentials—most importantly, energy, where new measures will come into place in the next few weeks.”
Pension rates in 2026/27
The full rates for 2026/27 will be:
£241.30 per week for the new State Pension (for those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016) – up from £230.25 in 2025/26.£184.90 per week for the basic State Pension (the core amount in the old State Pension system) – up from £176.45 in 2025/26.
He also explained that currently there are 12 million pensioners in the UK but this is set to increase to 18 million over the next 50 years. Mr Bell said: “Our view is that having the triple lock drive above-inflation increases, on average, among pensioners is the right thing to do for this Parliament. That is why we set it out in our manifesto, and that is Toggle showing location ofColumn 14what is driving the increases in the state pension.”
Tory Mark Garnier hit out at the Rachel Reeves decision to target pensions for money raising measures. He said: “In the Government’s first 18 months, they have disincentivised pension savings by introducing inheritance tax on pensions, removing pensions from their lifetime ISA reforms, forcing pension trustees into mandation and, most recently, introducing a cap on salary sacrifice savings incentives.
“Through their actions, this Government are pushing people to be more reliant on the state pension, rather than encouraging people to take control of their own financial future. Which will be the next Government U-turn: cancelling mandation, or abandoning salary sacrifice caps?” Mr Bell accursed Mr Garnier of himself committing a U-turn.